The Dragon
by BD the Pixie
Summary: Chapter 13 is LOOOONG. Yes, i left a loose end, the smart readers will pick up on it, but don't worry. I'll get to it. BD's not your average 'aah! i'm in love! *blush*' Kinda girl. Oh, no. R&R, folks!
1. Default Chapter

Are you people ready for this? Are you? This fic is to be the greatest fic (of mine) that I have ever written. At least, that's what I'm HOPING for. Now, on with it, I say!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, or anything really. My OC, B.D, is mine. But that's all. (PLEASE NOTE: one of the many purposes of this fic is to ensure that B.D. is an OC. Not a Mary-Sue. She isn't. Thank you.)  
  
~*~*~*~*~* Chapter one: Enter Black Dragon ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
She ran, as fast as her legs and adrenaline rush would allow. Which was, coincidentally, pretty fast. The adrenaline, mainly, since her speed wasn't a strength. Her loosely fitting black pants and gray shirt ruffled slightly as she ran, her black hair flopped lazily behind her. She could never get that hair as straight as she'd like, and right now she didn't care. Her crimson eyes flashed a fiery hatred at her pursuer, a Reikai guard. He chased after her, with several others behind him.  
  
"Run!" her brain screamed to her. She did. A blue oni appeared in front of her, blocking her path. She tripped and fell, landing painfully on one shoulder. Another oni grabbed her wrist, while yet another snatched her katana, her only weapon, from its sheath. She was caught.  
  
"You do know you've committed a serious crime, do you not?" Koenma accused.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you know, also, that you're going to jail?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good. Ogre, take her away."  
  
The oni snatched a handcuffed hand and pulled her off to a cell. "How filthy. A cell." She commented.  
  
"You're in no position to make comments. You're in very big trouble." The oni informed her. She remained silent. Her rude demeanor hid her true emotion. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest. She was afraid.  
  
The oni locked the cell behind him, whistling a merry tune. He walked away, leaving the demoness to her thoughts.  
  
Several hours later, she had fallen asleep on the cell floor, ignoring the hospitality of the bed provided. Another oni soon interrupted her sleep.  
  
"Lord Koenma wishes to speak with you," he informed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Lord Koenma wishes to speak with you," he repeated. She hesitantly got up and waited for him to open the door. He did, carefully, and snatched her hand in a handcuff faster than her brain could process the thought "run! You're free!" and she was led back to Koenma's desk.  
  
"I trust you know why I've brought you back?" he said.  
  
"No."  
  
He sighed. "To sentence you, baka! You need a sentence. Must I do everything myself?!" he spat, annoyed. She stood there silently.  
  
"Koenma, sir. We're ready," the blue oni she'd seen before ran up, handing Koenma a piece of paper. He read it to himself.  
  
"Three years, good. I think that's plenty." Koenma said.  
  
"Three years?" she dropped the "sir" that the onis used.  
  
He sighed again. "Nosey, aren't you? Yes. Three years in Reikai jail."  
  
"Doing nothing?"  
  
"That would be ideal- hey! Why am I talking to this thief? Ogre, take her back to her cell," he busied himself again with his papers.  
  
"Come, then." The oni grabbed her wrist, and led her shamefully away.  
  
She attempted conversation with the oni, "Will I just sit in jail for three years, doing nothing?" Panic showed in her eyes.  
  
"No. Lord Koenma will make you do things around here," the oni answered, trying to keep conversation at a minimum for fear of Koenma's wrath.  
  
She sighed heavily, a single tear rolling down her cheek in spite of herself. The oni noticed, but left saying nothing. She sat silently in her cell, crying herself to sleep.  
  
Morning came and went, and she was given some breakfast by an oni. She had spent her time wisely this morning, up at five as usual. She had devised a plan.  
  
"Not hungry."  
  
"Excuse me?" an oni questioned.  
  
"Not hungry," she repeated.  
  
The oni looked panic-stricken. He ran off quickly, yelling, "Koenma, sir! Lord Koenma!"  
  
Several onis came down a few minutes later, worried looks on their faces.  
  
"Not hungry," she said again.  
  
"Lord Koenma commands that you eat," an oni ventured.  
  
"Not hungry."  
  
They tried this for a good while. Nearly an hour passed. She only uttered those two words: not hungry. The onis were panicked.  
  
"Koenma sir, what if we kill the prisoner? We'll be responsible!" the oni was thoroughly upset. He did not like the idea of taking human life, not in this way.  
  
"I know, I know, but what can we do?" Koenma was at a loss, and it was not making him happy. He marched to the cell himself.  
  
"Not hungry," she spat.  
  
"If you want, we can kill you now and get it over with." Koenma threatened.  
  
"That can be arranged," she said, without hesitation.  
  
Koenma was speechless, not expecting that remark. She may not be a good thief, but when it came to talking her way out of things, she was fairly good at it.  
  
"Well, well I can't do that. Taking human life would be a larger crime than the one you committed, I'm afraid." Koenma said, angry now. His paperwork was piling and he needed to fix this problem.  
  
"My crime? Humph. Crime. You gave me three years. Three years! You're a heartless fool, you know that?" she exploded, shouting curses and other such accusations.  
  
"You got what you deserved," Koenma told her.  
  
"I deserved three years for that? I didn't even do anything!"  
  
"Not yet you didn't. You would have. And that's the point."  
  
"How do you know my intentions?"  
  
This caused Koenma to fall silent. The truth was, they didn't know her intentions and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. The witness onis had said she hadn't gotten very far. It was undetermined as to what she was even trying to steal. She hadn't made it that far.  
  
"You don't even know what I was going to steal," she added, laughing at him. "You people are pathetic."  
  
"Silence, fool! You're in no position to be insulting your captor!"  
  
"This is an injustice," she stated simply, and flopped onto the cell's bed, ending the conversation.  
  
"Fine. You stay here and starve. We will not be held accountable," Koenma lied. He stormed back into his office.  
  
"What should we do, sir?" the blue oni questioned.  
  
"What can we do, ogre?"  
  
"Three years was harsh. She's right," the oni thought aloud.  
  
"Ogre! You're letting her manipulate your mind! Snap out of it, ogre!!" Koenma floated up and bonked the oni on the head, who in turn fell to the floor.  
  
Recovering, he said, "Should we lessen the sentence?"  
  
"We'll get the advice of someone. For now, I need to finish this paperwork," Koenma answered, pulling out a stamp and pounding on the stack of papers like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Koenma, sir! I'm back!" a bubbly voice echoed through the hallway.  
  
"Yes, that's nice Botan. I have a lot of work to do."  
  
"Oh, sir! So much paperwork! How do you ever let it get caught up like this?" Botan asked, innocent.  
  
"I had a . . . mishap today. A prisoner threatened with starvation. What do I do, Botan?" his toddler eyes looked up at her with a look of complete and utter helplessness. She was completely won over.  
  
"I'll help in any way I can, sir, but how?"  
  
"Well, she was trying to steal something, so we put her in a cell for three years."  
  
"Three years?!" Botan exclaimed, she was good at seeing the other person's point of view.  
  
"Yes, I took the advice of the ogres."  
  
"Sir! They don't know what they're doing! What did she take? Who is it?" Botan was excited; there wasn't often a problem that she got to help with.  
  
"She didn't take anything, we captured her easily before she could get a thing," Koenma said matter-of-factly. "Her only known name is . . . B.D."  
  
"What does that stand for?" Botan was curious to know.  
  
"Her file doesn't say, but according to rumors in Makai it's Black Dragon. A nickname, perhaps? She's not a big time criminal, there's hardly any record on her." Koenma looked stressed.  
  
"Hmm. Interesting problem, Koenma sir. I think you should lessen her sentence, because I know that I wouldn't want to sit in Reikai prison for three years and then have to face the outside world and tell them that I had failed in the first place. It would be humiliating!" Botan flailed her arms wildly with excitement.  
  
"Yes, I suppose you're right. Thank you, Botan." Koenma snatched up the file on B.D. and changed the sentence, and went back to work. And that was that.  
  
B.D. sat in her cell, all alone. She was looking out the window, hopping up and down and trying to see the River Styx. Too short to see out the window, she sat down on the bed again, defeated. "Three whole years of this? This is so boring!" she said aloud. Boring was just a cover-up for her fear. Who wants to be in prison for three years?  
  
"Botan! Come back here!" Koenma called, breaking the silence. B.D. snapped to attention even from her cell, hearing his call startled her.  
  
"Yes sir?" Botan sleepily walked back to his desk.  
  
"Sorry to bother you, Botan, but I meant to ask you . . . how did the mission go?"  
  
"Oh, good sir. Yusuke took care of it, as usual. Case closed. Here's the file," she pulled a folder out of her kimono and gave it to him.  
  
"Thank you, Botan. See you tomorrow," he said.  
  
"Good night, Koenma-sama."  
  
B.D. listened from her cell, eavesdropping. And yet, so bored. She went to sleep, nothing else to do. She found it, again, difficult to sleep. A combination of hunger and the thought of being in jail plagued her, although she eventually fell into a restless sleep.  
  
"WHAT?! AGAIN?! WHY?!" a loud, obnoxious voice rang through Koenma's office, reverberating off all the walls and making its way to B.D.'s cell. She awoke with a yelp.  
  
"And what was that?" the voice calmed to ask.  
  
"A prisoner, forget it. Yes again. Go! You don't have all day!" Koenma yelled back.  
  
"Listen, Koenma. We just got done killing those dudes from yesterday. And now you got more? What's up with that?" a different, slightly calmer voice asked.  
  
"It isn't our fault. You guys should be done by tomorrow, there are only B- class youkai and lower there." Koenma's voice told the other two.  
  
"BUT THIS IS SO DUMB!" the first voice boomed.  
  
"Kuwabara, just go. Come back and let us know how it went, guys. Bye!" a bubbly female voice rang cheerily through the halls.  
  
"What was that all about, I wonder?" B.D. mused trying to see down the hall into Koenma's office. She couldn't see a thing. Several minutes past, and the excitement of the morning died down. Her stomach snarled angrily. She was starving.  
  
"Why hello! Botan's my name! Yours?" a pleasant looking blue-haired girl bounced merrily into her cell, holding a tray of breakfast.  
  
She sat silent for a minute, letting her brain process the information before replying, "Not hungry."  
  
"What do you mean? Reikai breakfasts are the best!" Botan said merrily, handing B.D. the food.  
  
"Not hungry."  
  
"Well you sure are a sore loser! We lessened your sentence, you know." Botan informed her.  
  
"Not- what?"  
  
"That's right! Only a half-year now. I fixed it!" Botan was obviously pleased with herself.  
  
"Thanks, I guess."  
  
"What's your name?" Botan was as cheery as ever.  
  
"Call me B.D."  
  
"What does that stand for?"  
  
B.D. paused before saying " . . . Black Dragon."  
  
"OOH! Just like Hiei's! WOOSH!" Botan flailed her arms excitedly, describing Hiei's Black Dragon Wave with a variety of whoosh noises.  
  
"Uh-huh, that's nice, Botan," B.D. said, although cracking a smile.  
  
"Where'd you get a nickname like that?!" Botan asked, having finished her whoosh noises.  
  
B.D. thought about this a minute. But she was already captured, so what the heck. She pulled up a black sleeve on her right arm, revealing her Black Dragon tattoo. Botan gasped.  
  
"Just like Hiei! KOENMA, SIR!" Botan fled to tell Koenma.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have done that." B.D. said aloud, miserable once again.  
  
"SHE WHAT?!" Koenma exploded.  
  
"Yep!" Botan hopped up and down, excited.  
  
"Where could she have learned that?" Koenma asked, obviously stressed.  
  
"I taught myself!" B.D. hollered from her cell.  
  
Koenma sweat dropped. "Well it's nice to know we're listened to," he commented.  
  
Several hours later, one of the two voices was heard ringing through the halls again. Followed by the other.  
  
"Koenma! Botan! We're back!" yelled the second, not so obnoxious voice.  
  
"That was lame!" hollered an obnoxious-beyond-all-reason voice.  
  
"Good job, you guys!" Botan happily greeted them.  
  
"I trust you did everything as we told you?" Koenma asked.  
  
"Of course." A new voice. Masculine, polite. B.D. pondered this.  
  
"Well? Lets have it!" Koenma said, excited.  
  
"Hiei has it," all three voices chimed in at once.  
  
"Hiei . . . that's the one Botan said about. Strange." B.D. tried to see down the hall, but due to her short-ness she could not.  
  
"Where'd he go?" Botan asked.  
  
"COME HERE, SHRIMP!" yelled the loud, obnoxious voice.  
  
"Kuwabara, PLEASE don't do that." Koenma pleaded.  
  
"Hn." A new voice again. Deep, and somehow mysterious. She pondered this too.  
  
"Yay! We got the Orb back!" Botan said, cheery as usual.  
  
"Yep. Orb Thingy. That all, boss?" said one of the voices (the non- obnoxious one).  
  
"Yes, Yusuke. That's all."  
  
CRASH! B.D.'s cell bed had collapsed. She shouted a string of curses and stood up, her back in pain. She had been unable to see, even with the added height of the cell bed.  
  
"And that was . . .?" the voice, called Yusuke, asked.  
  
"Prisoner." Koenma answered.  
  
"Oh yea! The Hiei-girl!" Botan hopped up and down excitedly.  
  
"The WHAT?!" the obnoxious voice boomed, bursting into laughter.  
  
"It's not that funny," Botan said, confused.  
  
"Yes . . . it . . . is!" the Kuwabara voice and the Yusuke voice laughed together.  
  
"What?" the newest voice asked, a surprised tone in his voice.  
  
"Yea! She has the Black Dragon tattoo!" Botan exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, and it poses a problem." Koenma sighed.  
  
"Can you people not talk about me! I can't even see you!!" B.D. shouted, irritated.  
  
"That's her! B.D.!" Botan yelled, running excitedly down the hall back to her cell.  
  
B.D. was sitting on her bed, which used to be suspended from the wall, however now it was just flat on the floor.  
  
"What happened to you?" Botan asked.  
  
"I fell."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Why are you talking about me?"  
  
"Because, you're the Hiei-girl!"  
  
"Am not! Who is that?"  
  
"Hang on, I'll get them!" Botan rushed off.  
  
"No! Wait, Botan!" she sighed, defeated.  
  
"What?" a boy in green asked her, walking up.  
  
"Who are you?" she spat.  
  
"Yusuke."  
  
"Oh," she calmed a little. Then three other people came in, along with Botan.  
  
"And you people are . . .?" B.D. asked, growing confused.  
  
Yusuke explained, "that's Kuwabara, and Kurama, and Hiei, and Botan."  
  
"Yes, I know Botan. Nice to meet the rest of you, I guess," she sat on her bed, which was flat.  
  
"That thingy's supposed to go, uh, UP the wall." Kuwabara noticed.  
  
"Naw, ya think? Did you cook that up all by yourself, big boy?" B.D. glared.  
  
The guy in green, Yusuke, found this hilarious. "She got you, Kuwabara!" he said, laughing.  
  
"Shut up," she spat. That shut Yusuke up.  
  
"Well excuse ME." Yusuke said, offended.  
  
The redhead sweat dropped, and the spiky-haired guy in black seemed stoic.  
  
"Well, now that you guys know each other . . . SHOW THEM THE TATTOO!" Botan yelped.  
  
"Uh, sure," B.D. lifted her sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a Black Dragon. "You guys are in spirit world, you should recognize this. I don't see what's such a big deal."  
  
Hiei's eyes widened, staring at the tattoo. Botan smiled giddily with excitement. Then an awkward pause, as they all just stared at B.D.'s arm.  
  
"What are you waiting for, show!" Botan shouted at Hiei. He reluctantly lifted his arm and removed a bandage, revealing his tattoo.  
  
B.D. stared in silence. She wasn't as surprised as he had been. She could hardly control hers, never having had a sensei to teach her.  
  
"Happy now?" Hiei spat, pulling on his black cloak.  
  
"Wow Hiei! You have a counterpart!" Yusuke commented.  
  
"Yea she's all shrimpy like you!" Kuwabara noticed. He received death glares from both Hiei and B.D.  
  
"That wasn't nice, Kuwabara," Kurama said, although he had pretty much given up on the other three as hopeless causes.  
  
"Well are you just gonna stand there all day? I have lots to do. Rot in prison, rot in prison, and oh, we can't forget about rotting in prison, now can we?" B.D. accused.  
  
Yusuke laughed. "And a sense of humor to boot!! She's BETTER than Hiei!"  
  
Kurama gave Yusuke a please-don't-provoke-it look, and Hiei looked murderous. Kuwabara thought it was hilarious.  
  
"That's very nice. I think I'll rot in prison now." B.D. said.  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara doubled over with laughter.  
  
"Are they always that weird?" she asked.  
  
"Hn."  
  
The Tantei had left, going to their respective homes, trees, and back-rooms- of-the-Reikai. B.D. did just what she said she would do. She sat and rotted in prison, bored out of her mind. She knew that she'd scared Koenma by possessing the Black Dragon Wave, although little did he know that she couldn't use it. Not without dying, anyway. She'd only accomplished it twice, both times making a big mess of things.  
  
But she wasn't about to let Koenma know that.  
  
Her stomach growled loudly. "BOTAN!" she shouted, letting hunger take over.  
  
Botan came in with a smile and a burger. "I was waiting for you to get hungry."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ END CHAPTER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, you like? It's a story all about MY character. If ANYTHING in it was Mary-Sue-ish in any way/shape/form, tell me. I'll change it ASAP. That's the point of this story! R&R, please. I plan this to be an epic better than "Tantei in Kindergarten." Which shouldn't be hard, that fic sucked. Although I do like this one ^_^  
Remember, I'm open to questions/comments. And Flames are always a source of entertainment, are they not?  
Flames and Torches,  
  
~Black Dragon~ 


	2. Can only be described as Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: I . . . do . . . not . . . own . . . anything. Got that? Good.  
  
BEFORE I begin, I must say that I REALLY like where I'm going with this. And weather you do or not isn't my problem.  
  
And. . . I didn't say anything before but I HAVE to now. It amuses me.  
  
Dark of Sky. . . get a dictionary please. or spell check? It's copyrighted. Copywrighted is not a word.  
  
That said . . . here's chapter two.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~* The Dragon Chapter Two: insert name of chapter here (so I can't think of one! Sheesh!) ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Yay! Guess what, B.D!" Botan skipped down the hall, making plenty of noise. She had long since given up asking what B.D.'s real name was.  
  
"What-?" B.D sleepily stood and stretched, "what's up, Botan?"  
  
"Guess what today is!" Botan hopped up and down excitedly.  
  
" . . . Tuesday?" B.D. rubbed her eyes sleepily.  
  
"No!! It's- hey. . . B.D.?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Today's Wednesday."  
  
" . . . Oh."  
  
"And its also the day you get let out! KOENMA-SAMA!" Botan yelled to summon her boss.  
  
Koenma marched himself down the narrow hallway, and unceremoniously opened the door. "Congratulations. You're free," he told her.  
  
She stared straight ahead stupidly for a moment, before bolting out the door (of course, she did run into it on the way) shouting, "I'm free! I'M FREE!"  
  
"Yay!" Botan clapped excitedly, "I'm so excited for you!"  
  
"Thanks, Botan. I'll come back and see you sometime, okay?"  
  
"Oh good! I look forward to it!" Botan smiled happily at her new friend.  
  
"Happy hour over. You may leave," Koenma broke up their "happy hour" and went back to his desk.  
  
"Bye!" Botan waved.  
  
"Bye!!" B.D managed to run into the wall beside the door on her way out. Botan winced.  
  
"I'm okay . . . I swear . . ." she got up again and was just leaving when she ran into Yusuke. Literally.  
  
"Hey! You're in the way!" Yusuke said angrily.  
  
"Oh! Hi, Yusuke! Back from your mission?" Botan asked.  
  
"Well duh." Yusuke said.  
  
B.D stood up again, "I'm sorry. My fault . . ." she turned and left, this time managing to not run into things.  
  
"Who was that?" Yusuke asked, only half paying attention.  
  
"It was that prisoner girl." Botan reminded him.  
  
"Oh yea, her. I remember her. So here's the file thingy you wanted," he handed her the "file thingy" and turned to go.  
  
"Leaving so soon?"  
  
"Yea, I'm meeting Keiko at the movies," Yusuke informed her, quite proud of himself.  
  
Botan smiled. "Well that's good! Let me know how it goes with her!" she teased.  
  
Yusuke glowered at her, but left quickly anyway. Botan's teasing wouldn't ruin his date.  
  
On his way to the movie theater, he'd been quite excited about it. However two things dampened his spirits (only a little, mind you). One, Keiko had picked the movie. One of her silly foreign arts films again. Two, Kuwabara had come. That was worse.  
  
"Hey! What took ya?" Kuwabara greeted.  
  
"K-Kuwabara?" Yusuke sighed heavily, not wanting to put up with Kuwabara at the moment.  
  
"Yea, I told him I was going and he asked to go," there was a hint of disappointment in Keiko's voice. Yusuke noted this and grinned to himself. At least they'd have the dark theater to escape the idiot. Yusuke began to devise his master plans. And Kuwabara shattered them.  
  
"Yusuke can buy the stuff. We'll get a seat," Kuwabara announced.  
  
Yusuke tried to fix it, he really did, "No, Kuwabara, why don't you?" he glared at Kuwabara, his eyes showing pure hatred.  
  
"Uh, okay . . ." Kuwabara marched off to get some drinks and snacks and whatever else he would buy.  
  
Yusuke shot Keiko a "help me!" look, and at the same time she just looked at him, distress showing in her deep brown eyes. This caused Yusuke to smile.  
  
"C'mon, Keiko. Lets go," he led her into the theater, leaving Kuwabara alone in the concession stand line. Maybe he'd take a hint.  
  
B.D had meanwhile arrived in Makai. Many demons and apparitions would say that Makai was a dirty, nasty, unfit place to live. B.D was not among them. She enjoyed every second of just being there.  
  
"Hey, give me your weapon," a scratchy voice came out of the shadows. She sensed his youkai, showing that he was fairly low-level, but could pose a threat.  
  
She tried to run, but only took two steps before realizing that she was surrounded by four other youkai of the same species.  
  
Their large, muscular bodies were green in color, and they had beady black eyes. A horn protruded from each of their foreheads, and they wore brown- colored pants and torn muscle shirts of various colors. Their hair was puffy, and purple. One had yellow streaks. "Festive . . ." she thought. They were, all in all, large, scary opponents.  
  
Okay, so Makai had its downfalls.  
  
Welcome home.  
  
Kurama sat in his bedroom, catching up on his schoolwork that he'd missed while on the mission. It wasn't difficult for him; he did this all the time. He worked quietly, noting the time every thirty minutes or so.  
  
"Midnight . . ." he considered going to sleep, but he wanted to finish his homework.  
  
A soft tapping at his window caused him to snap to attention. His groggy brain took only seconds to comprehend that it was only Hiei, and he got up to open the window.  
  
Hiei stood there, looking quite pitiful. His usually spiky hair was plastered flat to his head, and his cloak and scarf were drenched and sticking to his skin. He looked murderous, his crimson eyes glowing with anger.  
  
"I'm . . . sorry . . . I didn't know it was raining . . ." Kurama tried his best not to laugh.  
  
"Baka kitsune," Hiei snapped.  
  
"Whenever it stops, you know the way out," Kurama turned back to his books, and Hiei went to raid the kitchen. Kurama sighed. "It's a good thing mother's not home, or she'd panic," Kurama noted. His mother, like most, would not cope well when small, soaking wet fire youkai tried to raid the fridge.  
  
He listened with interest as Hiei made noise down in the kitchen, clashing silverware and dishes, and every now and again the refrigerator door would open and close. Hiei came back with a sandwich, and this caused Kurama to laugh.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Hiei demanded.  
  
"You, go look at yourself. You look hilarious," Kurama managed. Hiei was indeed an unusual sight. His hair looked strange, the way it stuck to his head from the water. And the sandwich just completed the picture.  
  
"Baka," Hiei said, and proceeded to eat his sandwich.  
The fight had lased for a few hours. B.D lay sprawled on the ground; the youkai had left long ago. They had presumed her dead. Her katana was gone and she lie passed out there for several hours. Many youkai had sensed her, but didn't attack. They were afraid of the bloody scene before them, and she had nothing left of value.  
  
She came around and tried to stand. Dark crimson blood poured freely from a gaping wound on her left shoulder, staining the blood soaked ground further. She could see that she'd only managed to kill one of the youkai. She remembered stabbing him through the heart. Blood was still oozing slowly from his wound as well. His green blood mingled with her own in a pool on the ground.  
  
She reached instinctively to her sheath, however both it and her katana had been stolen. Along with her gray shirt, revealing her white undershirt, now completely covered in her blood. Her shoes and necklace had also been stolen, but that wasn't as big a deal as her katana. However bad at fencing she was, it was her only weapon.  
  
She slumped over, breathing heavily. Blood poured from her shoulder, making a larger puddle on the ground. She stood straight up and walked away to the best of her ability. Being caught in a bloody scene like this one could kill any youkai.  
  
Her first thought was to climb into a tree. That wouldn't work, she decided, because she was bleeding too heavily. Second (and last) resort was to go to Ningenkai. However she was reluctant to do this, because she was, again, bleeding very heavily. Humans didn't take this very well, she knew.  
  
She sat on the ground, thinking hard. There was nowhere else to go. She climbed up into a tree, avoiding the world as best she could and falling asleep.  
  
"What a fun first day back . . ." she mused aloud. Being attacked hadn't been in her plan.  
"I'll see you later, Keiko . . ." Yusuke hesitated. Keiko stood in her doorway, looking at him expectantly. After a moment of awkward silence, he leaned down to give her a goodnight kiss. "Uh . . . bye . . ." his cheeks flushed and he turned to leave quickly.  
  
Keiko blushed too, watching him go, "bye, Yusuke," she called after him. He walked quickly, trying to avoid her eyes. It didn't work, she saw him blushing and smiled happily.  
  
Kuwabara had lost them in the crowd, so he watched the movie alone. Having arrived home, he was going to feed his cat and go to sleep.  
  
"Here, Eikichi! Here, kitty kitty!" he called, shaking the box of cat food.  
  
"Meow," the cat padded out from its unknown hiding place to eat. Kuwabara smiled.  
  
"Good little kitty," he told her. "Eat all your food for daddy," he said.  
  
"Mew," the cat had no qualms about doing this. She was, after all, a cat.  
  
"It's a good thing none of the guys know about this . . ." Kuwabara told her, petting her gently.  
  
"Mew?"  
Hiei gave a small laugh. Kurama looked up to see that Hiei had removed his headband, and his jagan was glowing red.  
  
"Hiei, what are you doing?" Kurama asked him suspiciously.  
  
"Amusing myself," Hiei informed him.  
  
"Can I ask how?"  
  
"I'm watching the idiot," Hiei said, grinning to himself.  
  
"That's impolite, you know."  
  
Hiei only laughed.  
  
Kurama sighed, "You're impossible."  
  
Hiei laughed again.  
  
"Do you amuse yourself like this all the time?" Kurama wanted to know.  
  
"Only when I'm at your house, and it's raining, and I'm bored," Hiei said.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"It's amusing. You should see," Hiei smiled, thoroughly enjoying himself.  
  
"You're impossible," Kurama repeated.  
"Botan!! Come in here!" Koenma yelled. By this time it was early morning, and Botan had been sleeping.  
  
"Yes sir?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Koenma was taken aback by her unusual attire. She wore a pink and blue nightgown, her blue hair up in rollers. "Yes, sir?" she repeated.  
  
"Oh, right. Look!" he pointed to the large T.V.-like object in his office. George, his faithful blue oni, had located B.D on the screen. The sight was far from pretty.  
  
"Oh dear, that's not good," Botan chewed her nails nervously, looking at Koenma with a "and, what do you want ME to do about it?" look.  
  
"Should we do anything, sir?" George piped up.  
  
"I don't know, ogre." Koenma said.  
  
"I'll go," Botan volunteered.  
  
"Not to Makai, you won't." Koenma said.  
  
"But Koenma, sir!" Botan started.  
  
"No."  
  
"Well then why'd you TELL me?!" she cried.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Botan fell down, anime-style.  
  
"It's all right, Botan. She looks okay," George tried to cheer her up.  
  
"Thanks, George. Keep me posted, sir," and with that, Botan went back to bed.  
B.D had fallen into a restless sleep in her tree, beads of sweat forming on her brow as she dreamt of being slaughtered by demons. She made a frightened sound, like "eep," and fell out of the tree.  
  
" . . . Ouch." She said simply.  
  
The blood had ceased to flow from her wound, so she decided to walk to the portal and seek help in Ningenkai. She stood and walked away, her blood dripping from her arm.  
  
Drip . . .  
  
Drip . . .  
  
Drip . . .  
  
She placed a hand over her wound to stop the accursed dripping.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
End Chapter  
  
Yes, I realize I didn't disclose the information I wanted to give about B.D (such as her name, or where she comes into play in this story, or whatever) but its okay. Its coming, I swear. And this chapter was quite amusing, I think.  
  
Review me, onegai!  
  
Flames and Torches ~Black Dragon~ 


	3. The Dragon Unveiled

You know what, I'm trying. So there.  
  
And one more thing! This story is set after the Maze Castle incident, after Rescue Yukina, but before the Dark Tournament. Okay? Good. But it's really not much difference. It like - in between missions, doesn't matter where. But Puu does not exist yet. Ok?  
  
Disclaimer: I didn't own anything last chapter, nor the first. I don't own it right now, and I won't next chapter either. So why do you keep asking me these things?!  
  
~*~*~*~*~* The Dragon  
  
Chapter Three: The Dragon Unveiled ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yusuke nudged her with his foot, "Hello? Earth to . . . you!"  
  
"I think she's dead, Urumeshi," Kuwabara said matter-of-factly.  
  
Yusuke threw a glare at him, "If she was dead, then why did Botan make us come out here?"  
  
Kuwabara shrugged, contemplating this. "I . . . don't know," he said.  
  
"Right," Yusuke ended their little conversation and nudged the girl again with his foot.  
  
"Eeh?" she sat up, completely drenched in blood. "What the hell?!" she leapt to her feet, only to shriek in pain and fall onto the ground again.  
  
"Calm yourself! Come with us," Yusuke told her, obviously in a hurry.  
  
"Y-Yusuke? Is that you?" she asked.  
  
"You remembered me, I'm flattered. But we have to go," he told her, offering her a hand to help her up.  
  
"Do you remember me?" Kuwabara wanted to know.  
  
"Sure," she said, taking Yusuke's hand and standing.  
  
"Let's go," Yusuke practically dragged her back through Makai, leaving the bloody scene behind them. Kuwabara stood back for a minute, gaping at the bloody mess, before turning and following them, quickly.  
  
"Question!" BD shouted. They all stopped and stared at her.  
  
"What?" Kuwabara ventured.  
  
"Uh, where are we going?"  
  
"To Reikai," Yusuke snapped impatiently. "So hurry up, already!"  
  
"All right, I'm coming! Keep your pants on!" she said, pulling her hand away from him and following at her own pace.  
  
"Please do!" Kuwabara added for good measure.  
  
"Kuwabara . . ." Yusuke looked annoyed.  
  
Kuwabara glanced at him, "huh?"  
  
"Shut up."  
~*~* (A/N: It was requested that I mark scene changes . . . so here I go THIS is a scene change, peoples!!! Thank you)  
Botan was out momentarily, working on ferrying souls. Koenma sat at his desk, trying to stamp paperwork and watch his large TV at the same time. It wasn't working.  
  
"Koenma, sir! More papers!!" George, Koenma's ever-faithful blue oni, tried to swamp Koenma's desk with more paperwork.  
  
Having had quite enough, Koenma promptly threw a tantrum and George watched as papers - important ones, mind you - scattered all over the room. "Don't bother me, ogre!" Koenma yelled, finishing his tantrum to sit back in his chair and watch the two delinquents and one idiot on the TV screen.  
  
"Koenma, sir! The paperwork!" George wailed in agony.  
  
The scene on the TV was no more peaceful.  
  
"Hurry up!!" Yusuke was yelling at the other two, who appeared to be taking their time.  
  
"Shut up! I'm hurt, duh!" BD screeched at him, pointing at her shirt, which was dyed a dark blood red.  
  
Kuwabara seemed to just be taking his time, because he could do that.  
  
"I don't care!!! Hurry up!" Yusuke was not happy today, and seemed to be in a hurry.  
  
"Man, Yusuke! Lighten up! She's hurt, stupid!!" Kuwabara pointed at BD, death glaring at Yusuke. "How many times to I have to explain this?!"  
  
"Yes! Listen to Kuwabara!"  
  
Yusuke found this funny.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Why are you laughing . . .?" BD was slightly confused.  
  
"Because," Yusuke told her, wiping a tear from his eye, "you don't listen to Kuwabara! He's the group idiot!"  
  
"Hey! I can hear you, you know," Kuwabara glared.  
  
Yusuke laughed again, "I know."  
  
BD sighed deeply and walked faster, keeping up with Yusuke now. "You two are hopeless," she said, grinning at them.  
  
"Thanks," Yusuke said sarcastically.  
  
She laughed at him. "Just kidding, lighten up. I'm the one who's dying, remember?"  
  
"You're dying?" Kuwabara piped up.  
  
Yusuke and BD sweat dropped.  
  
Koenma and George were both watching the argument safely from Reikai. Koenma was silently willing them to all hurry up and get their sorry butts back here so he could finish his paperwork. George was just watching, because he really didn't care.  
  
Botan flew in on her oar, landing gracefully in front of Koenma's TV.  
  
"You're in the way," he said.  
  
"Well! Nice to see you too!" she turned around to see what he was watching. "Is Yusuke on his way?"  
  
"Gee, I wonder," he said, pointing at his TV.  
  
"Someone's grumpy today," she noted.  
  
Koenma sighed and squeezed a handy little stress reliever ball on his desk. "You try running a world when you're very own ferry girl is trying to make you hunt down delinquents and rescue them." He glared at her.  
  
"Well we couldn't just leave her . . ." Botan started  
  
Koenma sighed, "okay, Botan. We wont."  
  
She grinned happily at him as she put away her oar. "Oh, thank you sir!"  
  
He sighed, "Why do I do these things?" he glanced over at the infinite stacks of papers and requests, letting his head fall to his desk in defeat. "Why me?"  
~*~*~* (A/N: scene changing! Alert! Alert!)  
Knocking on the door louder, hoping for an answer, Keiko began to call out in alarm, "Atsuko? Atsuko!! Are you home?"  
  
She knew that Atsuko was at home, but probably not Yusuke. Yusuke would have answered the door by now. But she kept her hopes up and knocked harder.  
  
"I'm coming! Keep your shirt on!" there was a pause, "or don't!" Atsuko opened up the door, a hopeful look on her face. She frowned a little when she saw that it was only Keiko.  
  
"Hello, Atsuko. Do you know where I can find Yusuke?" she checked her watch, "he'll be late for school."  
  
Atsuko murmured and leaned against the door, rubbing her temples and allowing her vision to become clear. "He's out, Keiko . . . will you bring him to school for me? That's a doll . . ." she shut the door and wandered back to her alcohol.  
  
Keiko sighed. "Sure thing, Atsuko." Now, to find Yusuke . . . but there was no time for it. She'd be late for school as it was.  
*~*~*~ (A/N: I'm sure you figured it out by now . . . this is a scene change)  
"Botan! We're here!!" Yusuke yelled into the speaker, although they could probably hear him at Koenma's desk anyway.  
  
"Must you scream?" BD wanted to know.  
  
"Apparently," Kuwabara said.  
  
Yusuke blinked and stared at Kuwabara, for he was not used to Kuwabara using big words.  
  
Botan threw open the door to greet them. "Hi! C'mon in!" she cheerily led the way down the hall, her pink kimono flowing behind her gracefully. Several multicolored onis followed, cleaning up the drops of blood falling from BD's arm.  
  
"Koenma-sama! They're back!" Botan called.  
  
"Yes, I can see that," he works away at his paperwork, unable to slow himself.  
  
"Ahem, Koenma, sir? She needs medical attention," Botan suggested.  
  
"I'll get on that right away!" George ran off to some unknown place, returning with several other odd-colored onis. They form a circle around BD and dab her with alcohol.  
  
"Uh, hi?" BD winced back, as being dabbed with alcohol is slightly unpleasant. The onis backed off and ran about their usual duties.  
  
Yusuke seethed, "You mean to tell me that you brought us all the way back here to dab her with alcohol?!"  
  
"I guess so," Botan smiled at him. "It was fun, wasn't it?"  
  
He twitched, looking quite scary. "No Botan. It wasn't."  
  
"Can I go now?" BD asked, slightly afraid of the onis.  
  
"Sure," Koenma was only half paying attention, the other half focused on his papers.  
  
"Awww, do you have to?" Botan pleaded.  
  
She shrugged and replied, "I guess not, but . . ." she glanced at George nervously.  
  
George stared back at her, wondering if he had something on his face or something.  
  
Yusuke turned and left, without his two companions. "Hey!! Wait for me!" Kuwabara ran after him. Botan just stood there with a pleading look.  
  
BD looked down at her bloodstained clothing and sighed, "Botan, do you know where I can get something to change into? I'm a little . . . bloody."  
  
"Of course! Right this way," Botan led her down one of the many hallways, this one painted a light pink. BD glanced around her, seeing pictures of King Yamma (A/N: Please do not review me saying "but its Enma!" because I know that. In the dubbed version they use "Yamma" and so that is what will be used here. Thank you), looking quite scary indeed. She winced back. "Well come on! In here!" Botan dramatically threw open a pair of double- doors.  
  
Inside was, apparently, Botan's own bedroom. The walls were painted a solid baby blue, with matching curtains lining the giant window opposite the door. Outside the window, Botan's room had a wonderful view of the River Styx. The carpet was a creamy white color, and very thick. There was a large mirror directly to their left, beauty products scattered along a shelf below it. Botan walked slowly into her room, inhaling the scent of body sprays and perfume deeply. She turned to BD and smiled, "This is my room, you like it?"  
  
BD nodded absentmindedly, staring out the window and taking in the scene. Botan hopped across the room to a large walk-in closet and threw open the doors. Inside it were about a million kimonos of different color, ranging from pink, to blue, to purple. Botan rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said, "Hmmm, you're about . . . here." She walked towards the middle of the closet, close to the right.  
  
"You keep them in order . . .?" this confused BD greatly.  
  
"Yes, the newest ones are to the left," Botan smiled, proud of herself. "It's very organized."  
  
"I can see that!"  
  
Botan grinned and stepped back, pointing, "Choose one, any one! I've outgrown all of these, so I'm just glad they're being put to good use again."  
  
BD sifted some of the fabric through her fingers, searching for a color other than pink to wear. One of them caught her eye and she pulled it out to look at it. It was tan in color, with black trimming around the sleeves. She turned back to Botan, "I like this one."  
  
"That one?" Botan was slightly confused, unable to understand why someone would rather a tan kimono than a pink or blue one.  
  
"Yes, this one. Thank you!" BD gave her a light hug and held the kimono up to her, peering into the mirror. "What do you think?"  
  
"Perfect fit, BD! I like it!"  
~*~*~*(A/N: duh!)  
Keiko ran along the sidewalk, her blue skirt ruffling in the wind behind her. Yusuke ran up behind her and groped her bottom. She turned a bright red color, "Yusuke you pervert!" SLAP!  
  
"Heh, I'm okay . . ." Yusuke rubbed his cheek gently, a red handprint "gracing" his features.  
  
"Oh, Yusuke . . . sorry about that . . ." Keiko stammered. She smiled suddenly and threw her arms around his neck. "Where were you? You had me worried!"  
  
"I was around, it's okay. I'm here now, aren't I?"  
  
"Well yeah, but . . ."  
  
"C'mon! We're going to be late!!" Yusuke grabbed her hand and ran towards the school. Keiko was stunned into silence . . . since when does Yusuke want to go to school?  
  
"What's the matter with you, Keiko?" Yusuke asked, suddenly alarmed.  
  
"You want to go to school?"  
  
"Well I'd like not to be late for it . . ."  
  
This caused Keiko to throw her arms around his neck again, planting a kiss on his cheek. This in turn causing him to blush hotly and become very confused, "Keiko? Are you okay?"  
  
"Of course, Yusuke," she smiled at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"You're scaring me . . ."  
  
The school bell rang again.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"Yusuke! Language!"  
  
They ran the rest of the way to school hand-in-hand.  
~*~*~*(A/N: * sigh * I give up. Figure it out yourself)  
"BD? Can I ask you a serious question?" Botan cautiously sat down on her bed, watching as BD stood in front of the mirror, modeling her new kimono.  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"What's your real name?"  
  
This struck BD with force, causing her to drop her jaw and plop into a heap on the floor. "W-why?"  
  
"I'm curious," Botan stated simply. She grinned mentally, because this would be easy. She'd planned it all out.  
  
"B-but why?"  
  
Botan grinned for real this time, pleased with her own detective work. Jackpot! "Why, BD? Do you have something to hide?" she felt somewhat guilty to be prying into BD's background, but she'd promised Koenma.  
  
"Of- of course not. But why?"  
  
"It's all right, you don't have to tell me . . ." Botan trailed off, disappointed.  
  
It's BD's turn to feel guilty now. Biting her lower lip, she released a heavy sigh and began, "Okay, you want to know about me? I'll tell you. My real name's not BD. Surprised?"  
  
"Well not really . . ."  
  
"That was a sarcastic question, Botan."  
  
"Oh . . . I knew that!" Botan smiled, embarrassed.  
  
"Okay, as I was saying, my real name's not BD. It's Kimiko Amori. I really prefer to be called BD; can you still call me that? Please?"  
  
"Kimiko?" Botan blinked, trying to recall if she'd ever heard that name before. She didn't remember hearing it anywhere.  
  
"Yes, Kimiko. I used to go by it . . . and sometimes people would call me Amori, but that was a long time ago. I go by BD now, okay?"  
  
"Of course, BD. That's all I really wanted to know . . ." Botan trailed off again. She had been hoping for more information than simply a name. She was just as curious as Koenma, now that she'd become interested.  
  
BD could read the disappointment on her face, and wanted to fix it. But where to start? She took a deep breath and jumped right into it, "You wanted more, didn't you?"  
  
"W-well yes . . ."  
  
"Okay, I'll tell you. But will you promise to keep it between us?"  
  
"Uh . . . of course," Botan felt a strong twang of guilt, because she knew she'd tell Koenma about it.  
  
"I trust you," BD smiled.  
  
Botan could feel the pit of guilt in her stomach grow deeper.  
~*~* (A/N: must I keep saying it?!)  
"Urumeshi! Pay attention!" Kuwabara's shout came several seconds too late. Yusuke had been impaled with the volleyball, leaving a large red mark across his face.  
  
"Gee, thanks for the warning, Kuwabara," Yusuke glared, holding a paper towel to his nosebleed.  
  
"Well you should have been paying attention!" Kuwabara hollered back at him from where he was still playing.  
  
"It's not my fault!" Yusuke shouted, as a reflex.  
  
Kuwabara saw his opportunity and struck, "Oh? And I suppose it's Keiko's fault that you're stalking her!"  
  
Only seconds later, both of them were in Mr. Takanaka's office for fighting, looking at a detention sentence.  
  
"Good job, Urumeshi! You got us in trouble!"  
  
"Shut up." Yusuke retorted.  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
END CHAPTER  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
YOU LIKE?! I enjoyed that. A few Yusuke/Keiko moments and we FINALLY find out what BD's real name is. I told you people it was in the plan! Just wait - more to come.  
  
Thanks to all you who are reviewing, I'll have the next chapter up A-sap!  
  
Flames and Torches,  
  
~Black Dragon~  
  
PS: Note, I'm on spring break next week, so if I can't get it up before then I guarantee it to be up during my vacation. AND FURTHERMORE: it's almost my birthday! My happiness will spread through fics, I promise. 


	4. Chapter 4?

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. Except B.D./Amori (yes, she is known by her surname, got a problem with it? I just like it better)  
  
I'm running out of ideas for this fic. Any and all would be greatly appreciated.  
  
The Dragon Chapter 4: Uhh, chapter 4? ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it weren't for his pride, Yusuke would have been skipping down the street right about now. It may be 7:00 already, and him just getting home from school, with detention and all. But he didn't care.  
  
He had a date with Keiko.  
  
"Hey, Yusuke!!" yelled a familiar voice.  
  
"Oh, Kuwabara! Hi . . ." Yusuke greeted him unenthusiastically.  
  
"What's up?" Kuwabara grinned. "Wanna go see a movie? Or go to the arcade or something?"  
  
"No," Yusuke said flatly.  
  
Kuwabara paused for a minute before replying, "Oh, I get it. You have a date with Keiko, don't you?"  
  
"Yep!" Yusuke boasted, smiling a million-dollar smile.  
  
"Go for it, man." Kuwabara gave him a thumbs-up before turning and walking home.  
  
Yusuke turned on his heel and actually did skip down the street, for several blocks, before walking normally again into a store to get Keiko some flowers.  
  
Kuwabara watched this, amused, and then walked slowly home. Why don't I have a girlfriend? He thought. What's wrong with me?  
  
Eikichi greeted him at the door with a purr, "Meow!!" she hopped up and down at his heels, begging for food.  
  
"Okay, okay. Just a minute . . ." he pulled out her food and fed her. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, blinking confusedly. This wasn't the Kuwabara that greeted her, fed her, and talked to her daily. He was out of it. "Meow?" she inquired, rubbing her sides against his ankle.  
  
"Yea, yea. There's your food, Eikichi," he mumbled, walking into his room. Eikichi followed him, abandoning her cat food. He shut the door behind him, leaving her to mew quietly and paw at the door.  
  
~*~*~*~* (In Reikai)  
  
Botan sat on the edge of her bed, listening to BD intently.  
  
"Okay," BD began. "You know that I lived in Makai. Ever since I was little all I wanted to do was grow up and be a thief. I practiced on the little things, stealing from peoples' homes. Eventually I moved up and tried to break into bigger buildings with valuables. I was unsuccessful, but I kept at it. I got away with it once. This is what I got," she held up a small golden ball on a chain.  
  
"What is it?" Botan ventured. The golden ball shone from the light coming from the window, casting shapes on the floor and walls.  
  
"I'm not sure. Just something shiny that caught my eye. But I got away with it, that's the point. It boosted my confidence. A little too much, I'm afraid . . . That led me to try and break into Reikai. Stupid, I know," she looked at the floor, embarrassed for herself.  
  
"Yea, I'd say!!! Uh, I mean . . . I'm sorry," Botan caught herself.  
  
BD glanced up at her, "No you aren't."  
  
Botan began to laugh. "Yes, I am. But I have one more question . . ."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Why did you change your name?"  
  
BD gave a heavy sigh; "Because, when you fail at something over a hundred times your name doesn't tend to bring it's reputation back."  
  
"I see . . ." Botan smiled at her.  
  
BD grinned back, "Too bad. I liked my old name."  
  
"Would you rather me call you Kimiko?" Botan asked.  
  
"No. If anything you may call me Amori," she grinned. "I like my surname better."  
  
"I understand," Botan smiled. "I've got to be getting to work, there's bound to be a backup of souls. I'll see you later, I guess. Ja!"  
  
"Bye, Botan!"  
  
"Bye, Amori!"  
  
Amori grinned to herself. She could definitely get used to being called by her old name again.  
  
Suddenly, Botan's phone rang. Botan was just floating out the door on her oar, "Oh darn!! Could you get that for me? Thanks!" she flew off.  
  
She walked to the phone and picked it up, answering tentatively, " . . . m- moshi moshi?"  
  
"Botan? You sound different!" exclaimed the voice on the other line.  
  
"No, not Botan. This is B- err, Amori."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I know I've heard your voice before . . ." she paused. "I know! You're Kuwabara!"  
  
"Right, now who are you again?" he asked.  
  
"Amori . . . I'm BD, remember?"  
  
"You have two names?"  
  
She sighed, "You didn't think Black Dragon was really my name, did you?"  
  
"Uh . . . No?"  
  
Amori fell over, anime-style, but recovered to ask, "So what did you call Botan for?"  
  
"I'm . . . bored." he lied.  
  
"Oh. Well she had to go and ferry souls, sorry."  
  
"Okay then. I guess I'll just hang out at home or something . . ." he trailed off, sounding disappointed.  
  
"Kuwabara?"  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"Wanna hang out with me, instead?"  
  
He paused for a minute or two.  
  
" . . . Kuwabara? You still there?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, uh . . . yea," he said, snapping back to reality.  
  
"So, what do you say?"  
  
He paused again before replying, "Sure."  
  
~*~*~*~*(At Keiko's house)  
  
Yusuke tapped on the door several times, impatiently. Keiko answered the door and greeted him with a smile.  
  
"Hi!!" they both said at the same time.  
  
"Ready?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"Yep! Where are we going tonight?" she asked.  
  
"A movie?" he asked, holding out the bouquet of roses that he'd gotten for her. The florist's hadn't been good enough, so he'd gotten some from Kurama.  
  
"Of course!" she smiled.  
  
"What movie do you want to see?" he asked as they walked towards the theater.  
  
"Whatever you want, Yusuke," she said, her hand finding his.  
  
He blushed and smiled at her, "All right, I'll pick."  
  
They entered a dark theater that was relatively empty. They sat towards the back, comfortably seated with Yusuke's arm around Keiko's shoulders. Around halfway through the movie, they had both ceased to pay attention. Yusuke gave her a light squeeze and a peck on the cheek. "Having fun?" he asked.  
  
"Of course," she said, smiling.  
  
He smiled back at her. "Good, I'm glad."  
  
~*~*~*~*(At Kuwabara's house)  
  
A light tap on the door summoned Kuwabara from his room. The opening door knocked Eikichi off her feet.  
  
"Eek! Sorry, Eikichi," he said hurriedly as he ran for the door.  
  
He threw open the door, grinning broadly. "Hi, BD!" he smiled and let her in. "Hello, Kuwabara. Oh, and call me Amori, please," she requested.  
  
"Oh . . . okay, sure. Wanna play some video games or something?"  
  
She smiled happily, "Sure, Kuwa-kun!"  
  
They sat on the floor in his living room and played video games for the rest of the evening, chatting quietly and having a good time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*(At Kurama/Suichi's house)  
  
Kurama sat at his desk, working diligently at his homework. Hiei hopped in through the open window and plopped himself down on Kurama's bed.  
  
"Hello, Hiei," Kurama greeted him warmly.  
  
"Hn," was Hiei's reply.  
  
"Help yourself to the . . ."  
  
Hiei had already made his way to the kitchen. Kurama gave a heavy sigh and continued with his math homework. Hiei came back upstairs, wiping away a milk moustache, causing Kurama to laugh at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You look funny, that's all," Kurama laughed.  
  
"Hn," Hiei snorted and hopped out the window, not bothering to close it behind him.  
  
Kurama sighed and slid the window shut.  
  
~*~*~*~*(Following Hiei)  
  
Hiei leapt from one tree to the next, and atop buildings and light posts. He headed for a portal to Makai, stopping for a moment as he passed Yusuke's house. Nobody seemed to be at home, because the windows were all dark. He had just come from Kurama's, and there was no way in hell he'd be caught dead at Kuwabara's.  
  
He continued towards the portal, passing Kuwabara's house on the way. Inside he saw a peculiar sight . . . one that should strike fear into the hearts of . . . well . . . everything.  
  
BD, as he knew her, was curled up in a ball on Kuwabara's couch. A little kitten was in her lap. The weird part was, that Kuwabara was sitting beside her, with one arm around her shoulder. Hiei blinked for a moment, wondering if he was dreaming. Or maybe he'd died and gone to hell. The sight alone was enough to cause one's eyeballs to melt from their sockets.  
  
But BD seemed to be having a good time.  
  
Hiei stood on a light post, staring into the window. His jaw dropped and he stared. Amori closed her eyes and said something, and Kuwabara answered her. He stood up and helped her up, and led her to the door. Hiei's eyes widened some more as he gave her a kiss on the cheek before she walked away. She headed towards the portal to Makai, and Hiei followed her.  
  
She walked down the street hurriedly, as it was getting late. Suddenly she sensed someone's youki behind her. She spun on her heel and looked back and forth, her voice wavering with fear, "Who's there? I know you're there! Show yourself!"  
  
Hiei leapt down from a rooftop, landing several feet in front of her. She gasped. "Hiei? Is that you?"  
  
He nodded slowly, and his eyes widened. "Did I see what I think I saw?"  
  
She blushed and nodded, "Yeah, what of it?"  
  
He stepped back slowly. "You really are insane."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"From what I've heard of you, you should be, Amori." He smiled evilly at her.  
  
She gasped and took a step backwards. "You . . . you know?"  
  
He laughed, "I grew up in Makai. Everyone's heard of you, Kimiko."  
  
"Don't call me that . . ." she glared at him angrily. "What makes you think you can insult me like that? At least I had the guts to break into Reikai!"  
  
He laughed at her again. "Yes, and fail miserably, again. Just like you did countless other times."  
  
She glared at him and reached into her pocket, fingering her golden ball. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it up. "Here, see? I stole this."  
  
He looked at it for a minute and said, "That's worth nothing."  
  
Tears formed in her eyes as she slid it back into her pocket. "I don't care. It. . . means a lot to me."  
  
He rolled his eyes, "You should just go back to Makai where you came from."  
  
"What about Kuwabara?" she blurted. Hiei's eyes widened again.  
  
"You were serious?" he asked, his jaw dropping again.  
  
She nodded slowly, "Well, why not? He's nice . . ." she edged back at the strange look he was giving her.  
  
"But he's Kuwabara." Hiei protested, looking distressed.  
  
She glared at him. "If you want me to leave that badly I'll be happy to tell you that I was headed for Makai."  
  
"It's not that, it's just . . . what about m- uh . . . Yukina?" he asked.  
  
"Who's Yukina?"  
  
He stared at her, the look on his face turning to one of amusement, "He's just toying with you . . . I didn't think he had it in him."  
  
"What do you mean?" She demanded.  
  
"He's nuts about Yukina. He doesn't like you," Hiei said with a laugh.  
  
Her lip quivered, "so . . . you're saying that he likes . . . someone else?"  
  
Hiei nodded slowly. She bit her lip and stared at the ground. "I hate him." She said simply.  
  
"Who doesn't?" Hiei asked, before leaping up onto a nearby rooftop, out of her sight.  
  
She walked slowly down the street, staring at the ground. Her mind raced. He really doesn't like me? And who is Yukina? What do I do NOW?  
  
Amori continued to walk down the sidewalk, thinking. Until, that is, she ran into a light post.  
  
"Ow! That hurt!!" she sat up, rubbing her forehead. "Oh, great . . . I ran into a pole . . ."  
  
A laugh echoed out from above her. "You're so pathetic," Hiei's voice rang out.  
  
She rubbed her head harder. "Shut up, Hiei! Go away!"  
  
"Hn," he retorted, and she watched his retreating figure.  
  
"Good riddance!" she yelled after him, standing up. She continued to walk towards the portal, making sure to watch for light posts . . . and other various dangerous obstructions.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* END CHAPTER ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Not much to say, but I did upload another chapter! Two in one day! SCORE!  
  
Flames and Torches ~Black Dragon~ 


	5. Two Lives, One Person

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
The Dragon Chapter 5: Not all is as it Seems ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
She slipped through the portal, taking in a deep breath. Hiei had gone through awhile ago, and was gone. Good, she thought. She reached a hand into her pocket and fingered her golden ball, before climbing into a nearby tree to sleep.  
  
"Damn, I need my katana," she thought aloud.  
  
"You shouldn't talk to yourself, it's a sign of insanity," Hiei's voice corrected her from the ground.  
  
"What do you want?!" she spat.  
  
"I wanted to ask you about Kuwabara."  
  
"What about him?" her eyes lit up at the mention of his name.  
  
Hiei glared at her, "He's just a fool. He loves Yukina."  
  
"Who is Yukina?! Kuwa-kun would never do that to me."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
She sat in silence and thought about it. True, she'd only known Kuwabara for a short while, and she had no idea who Yukina was. But she couldn't help but feel that Kuwabara was sweet and kindhearted. Hiei laughed.  
  
"What's so funny!?"  
  
"You, falling for an idiot like him," Hiei seemed to take pleasure in this.  
  
"Who is Yukina?" she demanded.  
  
Hiei stopped laughing and stared at her. "None of your business."  
  
Amori could sense that she'd hit a weak spot, and backed off. "All right, I won't ask," she turned and slid down from the tree, walking away from him.  
  
Hiei was taken aback. He'd been sure she was going to attack that weak spot and demand to know who Yukina was. This girl confused him, more so than anyone he'd ever met. He turned and walked in the opposite direction.  
  
Amori hadn't been in Makai for long when a large flying demon swooped down at her, demanding her to give up her valuables.  
  
"Get away!" she shrieked, running off deeper into Makai, trying to find a place to hide. The demon laughed and chased her.  
  
She eluded him for a few minutes, darting back and forth and weaving around trees and other plants. The demon persisted, "You won't escape! Give me what you have!"  
  
As she ran through the forest, she slipped on some mud and was sent crashing into a tree, hitting her head hard. The demon chasing her cackled evilly, "You won't escape me! Give up, and I'll make your death quick!"  
  
She stood quickly. A small almond-shaped spot on her forehead began to glow as she stared the demon down. The tree had pressed against it sharply.  
  
"You'll pay for messing with me," BD threatened.  
  
"What's this?!" the demon snarled at her, landing on the ground in front of her.  
  
She smiled evilly, "You'll pay for messing with BD, they always do," she repeated. He stared at her for a moment, then laughing.  
  
"You're not a threat to me!" he shouted. "I could kill you so easily it wouldn't even be funny!"  
  
She smiled. "Why do they always pick the hard way?" Her right arm began to glow. The Amori inside of her was begging, isn't this a little drastic?!  
  
BD ignored her inner good side and assumed a stance, aiming the Black Dragon Wave directly at the demon. Without warning, it erupted from behind her and consumed the demon easily. It swooped in a large circle before she pulled it back into her tattoo with her spirit energy, with some difficulty.  
  
She sat on the ground, breathing heavily, until a figure clad in black appeared behind her.  
  
"Must you destroy everything in a half-mile radius?" he asked.  
  
"Shut . . . up . . ." she panted.  
  
He snickered at her a minute, watching her regain her composure . . . sort of. She fell from her knees to her stomach, fast asleep.  
  
"Why me?" he sighed, before picking her up and carrying her off to Kuwabara's house.  
  
~*~*~*~*(At Kuwabara's House)  
  
It was nearly 3:00 in the morning. A light tapping at his window aroused Kuwabara from his sleep.  
  
"What is it now?!" he demanded, throwing open his window groggily.  
  
The sight made him jump backwards a bit. "What did you do to her?!" he demanded.  
  
"I didn't do anything. She did it to herself, the fool," he placed her in Kuwabara's arms. "There, you take care of her." He turned to leave.  
  
"Hiei . . . why did you bring her here? Why didn't you take her to Genkai? She has healing power, not me."  
  
Hiei snorted. "You should know."  
  
Kuwabara was silent for a moment. Then he pointed to her forehead, where the small shape was glowing, barely visible. "What's that thing?" he asked.  
  
Hiei looked at it for a moment. "I'm not sure," he reached over to touch it.  
  
Kuwabara jerked back, "Don't touch it! You'll hurt her!"  
  
Hiei smirked, "You do it, then."  
  
"No!!"  
  
Hiei reached over and touched the glowing spot. Kuwabara panicked when it stopped glowing.  
  
"Hmm. . ." Hiei looked intrigued. He'd never seen anything like it before.  
  
"Stop it!!" Kuwabara panicked.  
  
"Why? You can't tell me you actually care for her?" Hiei  
  
"Well . . ."  
  
"What about Yukina?" he demanded.  
  
This hit a weak spot. "I, uh . . ."  
  
"Forget Yukina." Hiei advised. Kuwabara stood there, awestruck.  
  
"But . . ."  
  
"But what? You can only have one of them," Hiei said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Since when do you know so much about girls?!" Kuwabara demanded.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Besides, I can handle it," Kuwabara said confidently.  
  
Hiei glared at him and left, without another word.  
  
~*~*~*~*(At Kurama's House)  
  
Kurama sat straight up in bed, a tapping at his window the cause of his disruption. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and walked to the window, opening it for his friend.  
  
"Yes, Hiei? What is so important?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Kurama . . . it's Kuwabara. Do you remember that girl from Reikai? He likes her," Hiei looked distressed.  
  
Kurama laughed, "Well, I wasn't expecting that. What's the problem?"  
  
"What about Yukina?!"  
  
Kurama sighed heavily and put a hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Listen, Hiei. You should go sleep. Rest awhile, and think it over. Kuwabara can handle this on his own."  
  
"Kuwabara can barely handle going to the bathroom on his own!!" Hiei retorted.  
  
Kurama laughed, "Well just don't interfere. He'll be suspicious, and you don't want to create any more problems than there already are. Can I go to bed now?"  
  
Hiei leapt out the window without a word, and Kurama closed it again. "I hope he doesn't get himself into trouble . . ."  
  
~*~*~*~*(Kuwabara's House)  
  
A young woman with brown hair and a cigarette walked up to Amori. "Hey, you okay?"  
  
"What- where am I?" Amori asked.  
  
"In my living room," Shizuru said.  
  
Amori sat up from where she'd been lying on the couch. "What day is it?"  
  
"You've been here two days, you showed up yesterday morning," said Shizuru.  
  
"I'd better be going, then, uhh . . .?"  
  
"It's Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister."  
  
Amori gasped. "That means . . . this is Kuwabara's house?"  
  
"You're a quick one, aren't you?"  
  
"I have to get back now, could you tell him I said hi?" she bit her lip. Shizuru smiled.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Thanks!" she ran out the door, turning down the sidewalk and high-tailing it for Makai.  
  
"Little brother, I need to have a word with you," Shizuru called out loudly.  
  
Kuwabara popped his head around the corner. "Is she okay . . . HEY! Where'd she go?!"  
  
"She left."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me!?"  
  
"Because, what about Yukina?!" Shizuru demanded.  
  
Kuwabara stood there silently for a moment. "I . . . I don't know."  
  
"Thought so. You can't go playing with girls' hearts, they'll come back and hurt you," Shizuru warned.  
  
Kuwabara laughed, "Hurt me? Not them."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I know Yukina," he trailed off.  
  
" . . . But not the other one."  
  
"Well, not really . . ."  
  
"Just don't get yourself hurt."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*(In Makai)  
  
Amori reached up to her forehead and pressed down on it. A small glow emitted in a sort of an almond shape.  
  
"Ah, free at last," she said, giving a wicked smile. She walked through Makai for a bit, trying to decide where to get a new katana for herself. Her forehead glowed all the while.  
  
She eventually decided to hunt down her old one and get that back. The Amori inside her shouted, just get a new one! Stay out of trouble! But as usual, she paid little attention to her good side.  
  
BD smiled in spite of herself. By telling Botan the name of her good side, Amori, she'd been able to further separate Amori from BD. It was a brilliant tactic. BD was faster, stronger, and more cunning than Amori. When Amori was in control, she was generally more good-natured and less of a fighter. During times of danger, Amori would automatically resort to pressing on her forehead, releasing the BD inside her.  
  
BD, on the other hand, never liked to give up her position of power by controlling the body.  
  
Two minds sharing one body: Amori, the good side; and BD, the evil side.  
  
Until recently, they had been joined as one.  
  
By telling Botan about her old name, the Amori inside her had awoken. All of the goodness left BD and became Amori again. BD retained all of her evil.  
  
The mind had split back into two. BD smirked and walked faster.  
  
No one would have to know. Stop this! Let me out! Amori screamed inside her head.  
  
"Shut up, I can barely think with you making all that noise in there," BD retorted. They were as separated now as they ever had been. They could even talk to each other again.  
  
No! I won't! You have to let me out sometime, you know! Amori called out. But of course, only BD could hear the voice in her head.  
  
"Don't worry. You'll have your chance. Hey, Amori?" BD asked, thankful that no one was around to hear her talk to herself.  
  
What?! Amori snapped.  
  
"What's with you and Kuwabara? That was disgusting! You're lucky I wasn't able to talk to you . . . you'd still have a headache."  
  
A shadow slipped out from behind a tree. It was a greenish demon, wearing sunglasses and holding a briefcase.  
  
"What do you want?!" BD snapped.  
  
"Like to buy a watch?" he asked.  
  
"Leave me alone," she glared at him.  
  
"Such a pretty face, too bad it's wasted on a lunatic," he said, retreating back into the forest. Even the demons in Makai knew to be leery of people who talked to themselves.  
  
She ran for a few minutes, getting some distance between the demon and herself.  
  
"I hate you," she said.  
  
Ditto. Amori's answer rang out in her head.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* END CHAPTER ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Does that clear a bit up for you, folks? That's the reason behind everything. BD and Amori are two different people, they just so happen to share a body.  
  
And for you stupid ones who can't figure it out, I'll spell it out for you.  
  
BD is the one with the spot that glows on her forehead. That's your indication that she's in control of "the body."  
  
When Amori's in control, the glow disappears. If you haven't noticed, Amori's the one with the crush on Kuwabara.  
  
More soon, since I'm on spring break this week.  
  
Review, onegai?!  
  
Look for updates! Next chapter will be a Flashback as to why BD and Amori were together in the first place, how they joined as one personality, and stuff!  
  
Flames and Torches, ~Black Dragon~  
  
(NOTE: anything Amori has said inside BD's head WAS in italics, but I think ff.net might delete the italics. KUSO!! But the wording should make it clear when Amori's talking and when she's not . . . don't worry, I'll fix it somehow.) 


	6. Aah, the Things you learn from gypsy wom...

Chapter 6  
  
The inspiration squirrel helped me, compliments to Mirai. ^_^  
  
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
  
The Dragon Chapter 6: Aah, the things you learn from Gypsy Women ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
(Flashback)  
  
About 2 years ago, when BD/Amori were still one. . .  
  
"You'll never catch me!" she shrieked, racing through Makai at top speed. Her pursuer was a strong demon, A-class at least, and he was gaining on her.  
  
She leapt over a bush, losing her balance on the slippery forest floor. He caught up with her. "Now I got you," he taunted, using his spirit energy as a bind to hold her paralyzed in place.  
  
"You won't get me!" she squirmed defiantly in his grip, but it was useless.  
  
He took her to an abandoned building and laid her on a cold stone table, strapping her down with chains. "Don't move, now. Let's see, what organs should we take first, hmm?" he smiled evilly at her.  
  
A look of fear clouded her eyes and he laughed at her. "Don't be afraid. It only hurts for the first hour or so."  
  
She shivered in fear and a few tears streaked her face. "I hate you," she mouthed, unable to speak.  
  
He leaned over her with a rusty old knife. "I think the brain will have to go first," he said. He used the tip of the knife to gouge a hole in her forehead. It was a small, almond-shaped cut. She writhed in pain, tugging helplessly against her restraints.  
  
Suddenly, without warning, a vast amount of spirit energy emerged from the small hole in her forehead, flooding the room with an eerie blue glow. The demon leapt backwards, half in surprise, and half in fear. The blue light erupted into a huge explosion, causing the entire building to go up in flames. The demon perished in the smoke and ash, but the bluish light shielded her from the blow.  
  
Sliding down from the table and dripping blood, she ran for an exit, guided by her own spirit energy. It seemed to have taken on a form of it's own.  
  
After she had escaped, she ran. She ran as far and as fast as she could. Eventually, a combination of fatigue and fear caused her to stop and rest. Shortly after a bluish aura surrounded her body from seemingly nowhere.  
  
"What is this. . .?!" she jumped up from her spot on the ground, swinging her arms at the blue haze. It didn't go away. Instead, it seemed to close in on her, and then she could feel it, slowly sucking into the hole in her forehead. She stood still for this, her eyes wide.  
  
"What do you want from me. . .?" she asked, not expecting it to answer. To her surprise, she heard a voice inside her head say, I am the embodiment of your spirit energy. I do not have a body, so I shall reside in your mind.  
  
She stood there a minute, shocked, until it spoke again. Hello? Are you listening to me, dimwit?!  
  
"Uh, yea, but. . . this is a little far-fetched, don't you think? Look at me! I'm talking to myself!" Amori cried, throwing her arms up in disbelief.  
  
Get over it. You're talking to your spirit energy. If I weren't so body- less I'd kick your ass. It said angrily.  
  
"What?!?" she stepped back, startled. "Me? What for?! You're MY spirit energy, remember?!"  
  
I'd kick your ass for being such a weakling. That guy was only A-class, dummy. Why didn't you set him on fire? It seemed angry with her for not trying to save her own sorry skin.  
  
"I . . . I don't know," she answered herself.  
  
First thing's first, you're going to learn some cool techniques, the voice told her.  
  
"Like what?!" she demanded.  
  
Like the Discipline Fist, or the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, or-  
  
"Now wait just a minute! I don't have any reason to go killing people!" she crossed her arms defiantly. "I won't do it."  
  
Then just what do you plan to do with your life?! The voice demanded.  
  
"I'm going to be a thief!" she said proudly.  
  
Fine then. You prove to ME that you can make it as a thief, and I won't make you, her own energy lied to her.  
  
"All right, I can," she boasted.  
  
After a few weeks of break-ins, failures, captures, and a very angry voice in her head, Amori had managed to steal one thing. It was a small golden ball on a chain.  
  
You're pathetic, the voice scolded without warning.  
  
"I got this, didn't I?!" she demanded.  
  
Go learn some techniques. You're no good as a thief, it demanded of her.  
  
"No! I don't want to hurt people! I just wanted to be a thief, that's all," she protested.  
  
The voice scoffed at her, you sound like a kitsune. Must I remind you that YOU'RE NOT ONE?!  
  
"Oh, shut up. You're just the voice in my head! What do you know?" Amori asked.  
  
More than you, it retorted.  
  
"Well I'm not learning it!" she said.  
  
Yes you are! The voice commanded her.  
  
Only three short weeks after that, she had perfected the Discipline Fist. And over the next year and a half, the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was her constant goal. The voice in her head was pleased.  
  
You can call me BD. I like this Black Dragon Wave, it commented one day, as she was practicing.  
  
"I hate you," Amori said. She said that a lot nowadays, and always to the voice in her head. Several times she'd been stopped by various demons that would always want to know why she talked to herself.  
  
One day, the voice (now known as BD, as requested) had gotten her a little more pissed than usual. She decided to find out if there was any way to shut BD up for good. Looking into a mirror at her forehead, she mused, "If you went IN that way . . . can you go out?"  
  
NO! Don't you even think about messing with that, Amori! BD threatened.  
  
Amori paid little attention to her counterpart, and looked closely into the mirror. "I wonder . . ." she said, reaching up to run a hand across her scar. With a sudden flash, the scar was now glowing.  
  
Hey?! How the hell did I get in here?! Amori's voice rang out in BD's head now.  
  
"I . . . have control of the body? Sweet!" BD took the next few moments to do a victory dance, not really caring about how much Amori was swearing at her.  
  
After a few hours of allowing BD to practice with the Black Dragon Wave, showing much more skill than Amori had done, she was persuaded to let Amori have the body again.  
  
"Ha! You'll be sorry you did that," Amori informed her. "I'm shutting you up for good, now."  
  
Aww, hell. I hate you. BD said.  
  
"And watch your tongue! I don't like swearing!" Amori snapped. She searched through Makai for a number of weeks, trying to find some help in silencing her other half.  
  
What she found was that most people thought she was insane. Until she decided to let one see just what she was talking about. She walked up to the strange looking old woman. "Hello? Can you help me?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, little girl, of course," the old lady said in a scratchy voice.  
  
The woman was clad in dark purple and blue, with a light yellow veil across her face. Only her eyes were showing. They glowed an eerie silver.  
  
That yellow thing screws up her whole outfit, BD commented rudely.  
  
"Shut up!" Amori snapped.  
  
"Excuse me?!" the woman was baffled.  
  
Amori sweat dropped, "Uh, sorry about that. That's what I meant to ask you. You run a sort of psychiatrist clinic, right?"  
  
"I guess you could say that," she said.  
  
So, she's like a gypsy? BD wanted to know.  
  
"Quiet!! So, you're like a gypsy?" Amori asked. BD snickered inside her head.  
  
The lady sighed, "Yes, like a gypsy. What can I do for you? A tarot reading?" she asked, seemingly bored.  
  
"No, I have a . . . problem."  
  
"I'll say, you talk to yourself!" the gypsy blurted.  
  
"Do you want my money or not!?" Amori screeched.  
  
The woman paid attention then, "All right, what is it?"  
  
"A long time ago, almost two years, I had a little. . . accident. There was this hole cut in my forehead, see?" she pointed to her scar, without touching it.  
  
The gypsy looked amused. "Yes, I see. Go on."  
  
"My spirit energy came out of that cut and protected me, and then re- entered the same spot afterwards," she explained.  
  
"Yes, so you're saved. What's the problem?" the lady asked.  
  
Amori sighed, "You see, now the spirit energy thingy can talk to me inside my head. And if I tough the scar, she can take control of my body while I have to sit back and comment from my own head."  
  
Our body, BD corrected.  
  
"I see . . . I think . . . so you're asking me to do what?"  
  
"Shut her up!" Amori begged.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure if I can help . . ."  
  
"Please!" Amori looked at her with pleading eyes, "Please, just shut her up!"  
  
Feh, BD commented.  
  
"What seems to be the matter with letting her talk?" the gypsy asked.  
  
"She hates everything. And she wants me to start killing people! She's all. . . mean!" tears formed in Amori's eyes. "Please, help me."  
  
"I understand!" the lady exclaimed, throwing one arm up in the air dramatically.  
  
"You do!?" Amori smiled happily. "So does that mean you can help?"  
  
"Not necessarily," the woman said. "But I do understand what's going on. Your spirit energy took an embodied form to protect you. However, the embodiment is not only your spirit energy, but also all the evil in your body."  
  
"All the evil?" Amori asked, looking innocent.  
  
Damn right! BD was amused.  
  
"Yes, all the evil. If you were to get rid of the 'voice,' then you would be pure. Which would make me rich!! Alas, you cannot do that, because she is also your spirit energy. You would die," the lady sounded disappointed.  
  
"Yes, we want to avoid that," she sweat dropped. "So can we just silence her?"  
  
"We can try!" the lady sounded enthused.  
  
"How?" Amori wanted to know.  
  
I'd like to see her try, BD laughed.  
  
"Shut up!!!" Amori yelled. The gypsy woman looked confused. "Oh, not you," Amori said, "BD was being a commentary again." She explained herself, as she had countless times.  
  
"I see . . . BD?" she asked.  
  
Amori sighed again, "That's what the voice wants to be called."  
  
"I UNDERSTAND!" the old woman struck a battle pose again, causing both Amori and BD to startle.  
  
"Understand what?" Amori asked.  
  
"You must not call yourselves by two names. It only separates you further," she said. "You have to become one again!"  
  
"How?" Amori said flatly. She'd become quite skeptical at this point.  
  
"It will take a lot of will power, care to try?" the lady asked.  
  
"Sure- oh, wait. . . how much?" Amori asked.  
  
The lady paused before saying, "Fifty dollars?"  
  
"Deal," Amori shook the old woman's hand.  
  
I'm only worth $50? I thought I was worth more than that!! BD shouted.  
  
"Choose a name you would like to go by, now. Your spirit energy's embodiment must not have a name," the gypsy instructed her.  
  
"All right," she said, thinking hard.  
  
What's all the deciding? Your name's Amori, stupid. Hurry up. BD was angry again.  
  
"I'll be called BD," she decided.  
  
WHAT?! BD was outraged.  
  
"All right, then you must no longer call your 'voice' by anything." The gypsy smiled.  
  
"What do I call her?" Amori asked.  
  
"Do not address her," the gypsy told her.  
  
"Fair enough," Amori smiled. She could get used to this.  
  
BD screamed and shouted and cursed, but Amori ignored her. And had a good time doing so. The gypsy busied herself by thinking of ways to join the two.  
  
"Are you sure you know what you're doing . . .?" Amori asked tentatively.  
  
The woman smiled at her. Having her yellow veil removed had helped her appearance, but her face was covered in wrinkles. It gave her a somewhat frightening appearance when she smiled. "Of course," she said, a reassuring tone in her voice.  
  
A few hours passed, as Amori amused herself listening to the "voice" curse at her and demand her attention.  
  
"Aha!!" the gypsy seemed to be onto something.  
  
"What?" Both BD and Amori said at the same time.  
  
"We have to get her out of that scar, now!" the gypsy pointed at Amori's forehead.  
  
"My scar?" Amori pointed at it.  
  
The gypsy waved her arms impatiently, "Well? Get her out!"  
  
"How?" Amori asked.  
  
The woman was angry, "Can't you control your own spirit energy? Focus!!"  
  
Amori concentrated and struggled to control her energy. Eventually the blue haze of energy slowly seeped from her forehead and was pushed out into the open.  
  
"Now, quickly, cover your scar so that she cannot enter that way!" the gypsy hopped up and down, excited.  
  
Amori held her hand over the scar, and the energy ran into it, and flew around in panicked circles. It slowed down and seeped into her body, without the use of her scar.  
  
"What was the point of that?" Amori asked.  
  
The gypsy was overwhelmingly pleased with herself. "You won't hear her anymore. Your spirit energy is back in your BODY, where it belongs. And the evil is back in your heart, so you are no longer pure."  
  
"Really? Great!" she exclaimed. "So now I have to be known as . . . BD?"  
  
"That's what you chose, right. If you start to bring up past memories of the other name, it will arouse your energy. It will remember the time that you were separated, and it will come back," she warned.  
  
Amori, now known only as BD, paid the gypsy 50 dollars and was on her way.  
  
That's about the time she'd decided to break into Reikai. . .  
  
~*~*~*~*~* End Flashback ~*~*~*~*~* End Chapter, for that matter ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Clear some things up? Good! Don't worry, more of the other characters in the next chapter, I swear. Back to the present!!  
  
Review, onegai!  
  
Flames and Torches ~Black Dragon~ 


	7. Chapter 7, which has no name also

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing  
  
NOTE: it has come to my attention that people LIKE Hiei/OC fics. Good. I want to make this one. You don't like it, get over it. It's my fic and I can change my mind if I want to. TAKE THAT!  
  
PS: Dark of Sky . . . if you flame me again please know that I will be genuinely pissed at you. You never told me what I did wrong. You just said "Mary-Sue." My question - where is all this Mary-Sueness coming from? Can you copy/paste me a paragraph or two of Mary-Sueness so that I can figure out what you hate so much and I can fix it? Thanks.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Dragon Chapter 7: name the chappie? ~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mom?" Yusuke poked his head around the corner, watching as his mother flipped through the channels on the TV. He stood still a minute, halfway afraid she wouldn't answer. He turned and started to leave.  
  
"What is it, Yusuke?" she spoke up, startling him.  
  
He walked all the way into the room, hands jammed down into his pockets. He stared at the floor nervously. He started, "Uh, Mom I . . ."  
  
"Is it about girls?" Atsuko blindly guessed at his problem. Yusuke's eyes lit up. She'd obviously hit it dead-on.  
  
"Yeah, it is, actually," he grinned at her, hoping she'd get the message.  
  
Never having been married herself, she didn't seem to. Yusuke gave a heavy sigh, pulling a small black box from his pocket for her to see. Her eyes sparkled with pleasure and she took it from him, opening it. Inside the black velvet box was a gold ring, with a simple diamond on it. Atsuko stared at it for a bit, tears swelling in her eyes.  
  
"Yusuke, it's for Keiko, isn't it?" she smiled happily, hugging the velvet box to her chest.  
  
Yusuke paused, "No, someone else."  
  
Atsuko's jaw dropped, the small black box tumbling to the floor. The room was dead silent, and if someone would just so happen to drop a pin, it would have been audible. Yusuke's booming laughter startled his mother out of her trance.  
  
"I'm only kidding, mom. It's for Keiko, duh," he laughed at her.  
  
She smiled proudly at her son. "Yusuke, I'm glad you've decided to tell her. Make me proud," she said.  
  
"I'll try," he grinned at her as he walked out the door, leaving on a good note. That was unusual for him, but he wasn't concerned. It was a nice change of pace for his mother to be sober and happy at the same time.  
  
He whistled happily, fingering the black velvet box in the pocket of his green jumpsuit. Anyone else in the world would have been thinking about how to pop the question, but Yusuke's cool demeanor wouldn't allow for that. He was too busy thinking about other things, as though nothing about today was different. Marching up to her door, he knocked boldly. The sound of someone running to answer the door made his heart skip a beat, and as the door slid open he felt a lump in his throat.  
  
"Hi, Yusuke!" Keiko threw her arms around his neck in a hug, pleased to see him. He stood still, choking on his words.  
  
"Keiko, want to go to the park?" he asked eventually. She smiled and nodded, and they walked to the park arm-in-arm. Keiko seemed oblivious to his scheme, and she directed the conversation towards the usual topics, such as how Keiko's family's business was going, and light topics like that.  
  
"I have a serious question," Yusuke blurted out of nowhere.  
  
"Okay, shoot." Keiko grinned at him.  
  
He reached down into his pocket and held out the black velvet box. "Keiko, will you marry me?"  
  
She stepped back suddenly, gasping, "Yusuke . . ."  
  
Yusuke blushed nervously as she took the case from him, opening it and peering inside. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she realized that he wasn't kidding. He grinned at her, waiting for the answer.  
  
"I will," she said simply, holding him in her warm embrace.  
  
~  
  
Yusuke sat straight up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. He panted and put a hand do his chest, his heart pounding.  
  
"Damn, I knew it was too good to be true," he thought aloud, resting his head back on his pillow. He found he was unable to sleep, too busy thinking. Thinking about Keiko.  
  
~*~*~*(Makai)  
  
"Shut up! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" Amori screamed at herself, as BD cackled insanely inside her head.  
  
"You shut up! You're the one scaring people, not me", BD teased.  
  
(A/N: I had to use quotes for BD because italics doesn't work on ff.net. KUSO!!)  
  
"I'm getting you a body and you're going far, FAR away," Amori threatened, becoming angrier.  
  
"I think not. I think we should find YOU a body," BD cackled insanely again, driving Amori out of her mind.  
  
"I can't take this anymore!!!" Amori reached up and pressed her forehead, hard, causing it to glow.  
  
"Heh heh, now you get to be the voice inside MY head," BD walked around in a mini circle, glad to have a body again.  
  
"Oh, leave me alone," Amori whined.  
  
"Now, where do I get a body?" BD mused. "Aha! Spirit World! That's where!" she bounded off, using the body to the best of it's ability and running fast.  
  
"Slow down!! That's my body too you know! WATCH OUT FOR THE TREE!" Amori yelled. BD, of course, missed the tree.  
  
"Am I THAT annoying?" BD asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
~*~*~*~*(The Kuwabara Residence)  
  
Ring.  
  
Ring.  
  
Ring.  
  
Ring.  
  
CLICK.  
  
"Not there, huh?" Shizuru asked.  
  
Kuwabara shook his head sadly. "My Yukina! I miss her!"  
  
"It's all right, she's probably just outside or something. You should go see her in person," Shizuru suggested.  
  
"Hey! You're right! I'm going to check Genkai's Temple. See you later!" He ran out the door, completely ecstatic.  
  
Shizuru shook her head in disbelief. "That's my baby brother for you, always forgetting SOMETHING."  
  
(A/N: caps lock = italics. FF.NET WONT LET ME HAVE ITALICS! KUSO!)  
  
~*~*~*~*(Reikai)  
  
"KOENMA!" BD and Amori both yelled at the same time.  
  
"He can't hear YOU, stupid," BD pointed out.  
  
"Uhh, what?" Koenma looked up, his left eye twitching with annoyance.  
  
"We need a body," BD said.  
  
"What do you mean, 'we' need a body?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Amori and me," she explained hastily.  
  
"Amori. . . you are Amori!"  
  
"I am not!" she gasped, shocked, "I have NEVER been so insulted!"  
  
Koenma looked quite confused at this point. "Can you explain, please?"  
  
"It's a long story. I'm the embodiment of all the evil in Amori. Amori thusly turned into the good part, not having any evil left." BD said simply. She'd explained her entire life in one sentence. What talent.  
  
"You do realize that you just told me that you are evil. . . right? That means you committed the crime, and not Amori," he pointed out.  
  
"And you do realize that. . . no, closer. . ." she leaned down, as if to whisper a secret. He leaned in to hear. "I SERVED A SENTENCE TOO!"  
  
He rubbed his ears, thoroughly peeved. "All right, then what do you want?"  
  
She tapped her foot impatiently. "Body. Body. BODY. Do I have to say it again?"  
  
"No."  
  
"BODY!"  
  
" . . . Okay, so you want a body. Do you have any clever reasons as to why I'd give you a body?"  
  
"She annoys me." BD pointed at her head.  
  
"Your head annoys you?"  
  
BD tapped her foot on the floor faster, a frustrated mark appearing on her head. "I can hear Amori's voice in my head when I'm in control of the body. I would like my own body."  
  
"I see . . ."  
  
"Good. You're not blind. Now hurry up and get me a body!"  
  
Koenma threw a tantrum at this remark. "BOTAN! Take it away! TAKE IT AWAY! I can't deal with it!!!" he kicked and screamed and made a big mess of things on his desk.  
  
"Yes, sir?" Botan peeped out from her bedroom. "Eep! BD! It's you!"  
  
"Yep, it's me!" BD smiled happily.  
  
"Yay!!"  
  
"Can I have a body?"  
  
Botan sweat dropped. "Uhh, a body?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What for . . .?" Botan smiled nervously, wondering why BD wanted a body.  
  
"I can hear Amori in my head! She wants control of her body again. And I want my own. Get me my own!" BD shouted.  
  
"I can find you a body, I think. I ferry souls all day long, there are always some who die with their bodies in tact!" she grinned happily, although not understanding the situation in the least.  
  
"Yay! Thanks Botan!!" BD grinned. She suddenly had a moment of epiphany. "Botan!! I want this body!! Can we make Amori move into the new body?"  
  
"WHAT?!" Amori spoke up inside her head.  
  
Before Botan could answer, BD exploded, "WE DON'T NEED ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!"  
  
Botan stood there a minute, in shock.  
  
"Sorry, Amori decided to add her own UNWANTED comment," BD explained.  
  
"Riiiiiiiiight . . ." Botan said. "Anyway, I'll find some bodies that are still able to be used, and you can pick. All right?"  
  
"Sounds good to me!" BD turned to go.  
  
"Where are you going?" Botan asked.  
  
BD grinned evilly. "You can reach me at Kuwabara's house."  
  
"WHAT?!?!" Amori shrieked. She went unnoticed, however.  
  
Botan was confused, but she smiled anyway. "All right, I'll call there when I'm done ferrying for the day. Bye!"  
  
Koenma had long since finished his tantrum and was rearranging the things on his desk. "Time to go now, happy hour over," he said.  
  
"Humph, I feel left out," BD answered, but walked away anyway as Botan waved.  
  
"Sorry about him, he hasn't had a nap. Later!" Botan smiled.  
  
"BOTAN!" Koenma shrieked.  
  
BD just laughed at their antics and took off running, headed for Kuwabara's house.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
END CHAPTER  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
BD has an idea. GASP. And Amori is pissed. GASP. And I left out Hiei and Kurama again. GASP. But you'll get over it. I'll update sooner or later, you know I will. Review me. If I don't get reviews. . . I'll update anyway, just because I can.  
  
Flames and Torches,  
  
~Black Dragon~ 


	8. Two Lives, TWO Bodies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, I'm merely borrowing the characters for a bit, which will more than likely cause permanent damage. DISCLAIMER AGAIN: I in no way/shape/form own Monty Python, either. I just like to quote off him. XD.  
  
The Dragon Chapter 8: Two Lives, TWO Bodies  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Amori, having gained control of the body (under heavy persuasion) was running in senseless circles around Koenma's desk. His left eye began to twitch and a frustrated mark the size of Texas dominated his brow.  
  
"Amori, PLEASE. Stop. You're wreaking havoc," George (the ever-faithful blue oni) pointed out.  
  
"I'm so bored!!" she wailed, skidding to a stop and leaning on Koenma's desk. He kept his eyes lowered and silently prayed she'd wander away on her own.  
  
"Tis' I!" she shouted in a British accent. He twitched.  
  
"Yes . . .?" he twitched compulsively; causing George to be not-so-faithful and back up a bit.  
  
"Tis' I!! Amori! Allo! Tis' good ta' see yer!" she smiled and ran about in one last senseless circle.  
  
"Koenma, sir?" George ventured.  
  
"Y-Yes?" Koenma stammered between twitches.  
  
"What's she talking about?"  
  
"Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!!" Amori screeched for no apparent reason.  
  
George ran.  
  
"Ogre, get your sorry blue butt back here!! Don't leave me alone with it!!" Koenma begged.  
  
"Nah, we'll have a jolly good time, ole' chap!" she encouraged.  
  
Koenma promptly threw a tantrum, begging his not-quite-as-faithful-as- previously-anticipated ogre to come back. He didn't.  
  
Botan ran down the hallway, bubbling with excitement. "BD!! BD-chan!!" she called.  
  
"Amori," she corrected.  
  
"Uhh, right," Botan grinned innocently, "I found you a few bodies! Want to go see them?"  
  
"Of course!!" Amori dropped her British accent willingly enough, twirling around in a big circle around Koenma's desk one last time. "Bye, Koenma!!"  
  
He twitched a few times. "Take it away, take it away!!" he begged his loyal ferry girl.  
  
"Okay, Koenma," Botan blinked confusedly.  
  
"Yeah, don't get your diaper in a twist!" Amori teased.  
  
Koenma twitched a bit more. "I need therapy!!" he wailed.  
  
"Come on, BD! I got pictures!" Botan held up a few snapshots of . . . dead bodies.  
  
"Amori," she corrected again.  
  
"Oh, right. Anyway, here's some of them that are still inhabitable," Botan handed her the snapshots. She flipped through them with mild interest.  
  
"Nope. Nope. Nope. OH MY GOD!!" Amori screamed, dropping the pile of pictures and retreating to Koenma's desk.  
  
"What . . .?" Botan asked innocently.  
  
Amori pressed her forehead out of sheer mortal fear, escaping the horrible scene. BD, now inhabiting the body, was laughing her ass off.  
  
"What the hell?!" Botan shrieked.  
  
"BOTAN!!" Koenma shouted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You cursed!" Koenma gaped.  
  
"Yeah. . .?" she stood there, dumbfounded, while BD continued to laugh her ass off.  
  
"Oh my God! That was too funny!!" she gasped between laughs. She pointed at the pile of snapshots on the ground.  
  
"What is it . . .?" Koenma hopped out of his chair and walked over to them, picking them up. He flipped through them, pictures of girls who'd been killed recently. Amori had been right; none of them really suited her. As he got farther into the stack, he suddenly shrieked like a little girl and threw the entire stack into the air, running for his room and locking the door behind him.  
  
BD laughed some more, pointing at Botan, "I had no idea, Botan!!!"  
  
Botan picked up the pictures and flipped through, until she found the one they'd been looking at. She blushed hotly and ran, dropping the remainder of the pictures and taking with her the one that caused such controversy.  
  
"Okay, okay, enough laughing. Go and help her," Amori commanded from inside BD's head.  
  
"You can't tell me that wasn't funny," BD said, cackling evilly. "I sense some blackmail coming on!"  
  
"No! That was so private!!" Amori snapped, embarrassed of her evil side's rudeness.  
  
BD smirked, "Yeah, you'd think so. It's okay Botan! Let out your feelings!"  
  
Botan walked back in, cheeks flushed. "That . . . was NOT supposed to happen," she said nervously, holding the snapshot behind her back.  
  
"Yeah, and who knew Koenma had such a model body!" BD exclaimed.  
  
"BD!" Botan and Amori screamed at the same time.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're impossible!" Botan said, ripping the picture in two and throwing it. BD caught the pieces and held them together. She could still see exactly what it was a picture of. Koenma, teenage form, striking heroic poses on the diving board of some pool. In an incredibly small bathing suit.  
  
BD sighed and grinned evilly. "All right, let's pick a body, shall we?" She picked up the pictures scattered on the floor, and scrolled through them. She stopped on one, "Botan! What were you thinking!"  
  
"I don't know, but it IS an inhabitable body!!" Botan smiled evilly. "Besides, it would be funny."  
  
"NO!!" Amori shouted, though Botan couldn't hear her. The picture was one of an old woman, perhaps in her late sixties, with bright pink hair (though not much of it, the poor woman seemed to have been balding) and a tattoo of a flower on her right cheek. BD shuddered.  
  
"That would be just cruel, Botan. I like it," BD approved.  
  
"Let me out! You're giving Botan ideas!!" Amori begged.  
  
"All right, all right, keep your pants on," BD muttered.  
  
"Excuse me!?" Botan gasped in shock. What kind of a random comment is that?  
  
"Talking to Amori, hold on," BD reached up and pressed her forehead, which abruptly stopped glowing.  
  
"Thank you!" Amori smiled. "Now let's choose a body, shall we?"  
  
Botan didn't really understand, but they scrolled through pictures together anyway. Amori had taken a great liking to one of the young girl bodies. It was a tall girl, about as tall as Yusuke. She had blonde hair, and her eyes were deep baby blue, which Amori liked. Although it was a little creepy to look into the open eyes of a dead girl.  
  
"So how do I get into this body?" Amori asked.  
  
Botan grinned, "You have to control your life energy. Easier said than done, I'm afraid."  
  
"All right," Amori smiled and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. "SHUT UP!" she yelled out of nowhere, startling Botan a bit.  
  
"Sheesh, touchy!!" BD snorted.  
  
"I can't!" Amori wailed in distress.  
  
Botan was trying her hardest not to laugh, while the whole reason for the outburst a moment ago had been BD's laughter.  
  
"What's so funny?" Amori asked.  
  
"You do realize that no one could do that and survive, right? The body's back in Ningenkai. Your life energy wouldn't make it that far!" Botan burst out laughing, thoroughly amused.  
  
"Oh, right," Amori smiled innocently.  
  
~*~*~*~*~(Genkai's Temple)  
  
"Yukina! Yukina!!" Kuwabara called, running up the last of the stairs to the temple.  
  
"Is that you, Kazuma?" Yukina's softer voice answered his.  
  
"Yukina!! I missed you!" he smiled and ran up to her. She and Genkai had been sitting on Genkai's porch, sipping tea.  
  
"Hello, Kuwabara. Nice to see you again," Genkai said politely, taking a sip of her tea. "You want some tea too?" she invited.  
  
"Oh yes, please stay!" Yukina smiled; glad to have another friend around.  
  
"Uhh, okay," he hesitated, not really wanting to have a tea party. But he did want to see Yukina.  
  
"That's what Hiei-san said," Yukina noted, smiling.  
  
Kuwabara felt a chill run up his spine, "H-Hiei?" he asked.  
  
"Hn," Hiei walked up to them from inside, leaning against one of the posts supporting the roof of Genkai's porch.  
  
"Where'd you come from, shorty?" Kuwabara taunted.  
  
"None of your business," Hiei snapped.  
  
"Boys, please! No fighting!" Yukina begged. Hiei sighed and turned away defiantly, and Kuwabara grinned stupidly and complied.  
  
Genkai laughed a little, sipping her tea. Kuwabara smiled and accepted a cup from Yukina, sitting down across from her. Hiei glared at Kuwabara in silence as he and Yukina talked, while Genkai watched the entire thing with mild amusement. After awhile, night fell, and it began to get colder for the humans.  
  
"I'm going to go inside, Kuwabara. It's getting cold for you, I can tell," she nodded towards Kuwabara, who was shivering.  
  
"I'm ok-k-k-kay," he stammered.  
  
"Hn," Hiei turned and walked inside, silently willing Yukina to follow him. Genkai stood and followed him instead, carrying the tea accessories. Kuwabara got up and helped Yukina to her feet.  
  
"Come on, Kuwabara, it's freezing out here," Genkai called, hurrying the two along.  
  
Much to Hiei's disgust, Kuwabara walked Yukina inside. He followed behind his sister and the humans, scowling in distaste.  
  
"Hey!! Hiei!!" a voice called out from the top of the shrine's steps. Hiei turned around, surprised. A girl he'd never seen before walked up, smiling. She had blonde hair and was taller than he was, and wore a bright yellow t- shirt, cut to reveal her belly, and short shorts. She seemed to be cold, as far as he could tell through the dark.  
  
"How do you know my name?" he asked, glaring at her coldly.  
  
"Its m-m-m-m-me you idiot!!" she stammered, rubbing her hands along her arms, shivering violently.  
  
"Who's 'me'?" he asked. He could care less weather or not she froze to death.  
  
"A-A-Amori!!" she shouted. She gave up on him and made a dash for Genkai's door, though Hiei tripped her before she could make it.  
  
"What was that f-f-for?!" she stood slowly, rubbing her arm where she'd fallen.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"Inside! Its f-f-f-freezing!" she moved towards the door, but he stood in front of her.  
  
"I don't know who you are. I can't let you in. Go away," he pointed towards the stairs. "Or else I'll have to use force."  
  
"Hiei! It's me! Amori! Err, BD!! Remember that?" she asked, hopping up and down to keep warm.  
  
"BD? You're not BD, idiot. BD's got black hair, for one," he motioned towards her hair. "And she's short. I will admit you're about as annoying, probably more."  
  
"It's a long story, I used to share a body with BD. But I found my own. This is b-b-b-brand new," she pointed to it. "Can I g-g-g-go inside? Botan sent me here, because K-K-K-Kuwabara's here," she pleaded.  
  
Hiei burst out laughing, causing Yukina to poke her head out and ask what was so funny. She gasped when she saw Hiei talking to this new girl.  
  
"Who is that, Hiei?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Are you Yukina?" Amori demanded.  
  
"Why yes, but who are you?" she asked, just as innocent.  
  
"My name is Amori. I came to see Kuwabara," Amori cast a warning glance at Hiei.  
  
"Hn," he turned away and went inside, leaving them. He believed the girl about BD. It made sense to him now, with the glowing forehead incident.  
  
"Kuwabara?" Yukina gasped. "He's inside . . ." Yukina pointed. Amori rushed in, warming up in the doorway instantly.  
  
"Shut up, shorty!" Kuwabara was yelling.  
  
"Kuwabara?" Amori called out, rushing to find him. He was sitting in a living room like area, on a large couch. Hiei stood, leaning against the wall.  
  
"Told you," he said simply.  
  
"What's your name?" Kuwabara demanded.  
  
"Amori," she said truthfully.  
  
Kuwabara gaped, "A-Amori? That's you?"  
  
"Who is this, Kazuma-kun?" Yukina asked innocently, sitting beside him.  
  
Amori suddenly felt the need to glare at Yukina, as she put an arm around Kuwabara's shoulders. "Are you his other sister, or something?" she asked.  
  
"No," Yukina smiled, hugging him.  
  
"Amori, let me explain . . ." Kuwabara started, but trailed off. He hadn't planned anything to say, but was hoping she'd cut him off. She stood still, waiting for his explanation.  
  
Hiei grinned silently to himself. He was amused at how easily the fools could get themselves into a mess. His only regret was that Yukina had to be a part of it all.  
  
"Kazuma-kun?"  
  
"Yes, Yukina?" he asked, a pitifully defeated look on his face.  
  
"Who is she?" Yukina had a firm tone in her voice, demanding an answer.  
  
"His girlfriend," Amori blurted, hoping to set her title in stone.  
  
Hiei turned and walked out of the room, trying not to laugh and ruin everything. He listened from outside the room, as Yukina gasped.  
  
"You're what?" she stammered and looked at Kuwabara, tears forming in her eyes.  
  
Kuwabara looked absolutely pitiful, stuck between Yukina and Amori. He had no idea what to do. Suddenly he had a faint glimmer of hope, "Amori? Why do you look. . . different?"  
  
"I used to share a body with BD, but we split and I got a new one," she explained hastily, glaring at Yukina all the while.  
  
"Who's BD, now? Kazuma . . ." a tear rolled down Yukina's cheek and hit the floor with a clank.  
  
"Y-Yes?" he was almost afraid to ask.  
  
"How many girls do you have . . . besides me?" her lip quivered and she stood, not waiting for an answer. She ran out of the room, bumping into Hiei as she did so.  
  
"Yukina?" he asked. "Why-Why are you crying?"  
  
She looked up into his crimson eyes with her own, sobbing into his chest. He looked troubled, gently resting an arm on her back, trying to soothe her. She sniffed and stopped crying, noticing that there was a rather large pile of tear gems caught in the folds of his white scarf, but he didn't seem to mind.  
  
"I'm sorry, Hiei . . . but . . . I . . ." she hugged him and then backed up, blushing a bit. He smiled at her, his eyes glowing with pride. His own little sister had practically stood up to her two-timing boyfriend, and he was proud.  
  
"Listen, Yukina. Don't listen to him. Go find someone better," he advised. She looked up at him, her eyes panicked.  
  
"But Hiei, what about Kazuma?" she looked as though she might cry again.  
  
"Shh, don't cry any more. You'll find someone else. He doesn't deserve you," he smiled at her, completely forgetting for a brief second that she didn't know that they were related, and blushing when he realized what this sounded like.  
  
She seemed not to notice, however, and smiled back at him. "Thank you, Hiei, I feel so much better now," she said.  
  
Amori walked out of the room, staring blankly at Hiei and Yukina. Yukina gasped and backed away from Hiei quickly, as Kuwabara walked out after Amori.  
  
"Well, looks like Kuwabara's not the only one here that's two-timing," Amori smiled smugly, thinking she'd completely uprooted Kuwabara and Yukina's relationship now.  
  
"Shut up and mind your own damned business!" Hiei spat at her, grabbing Yukina by the wrist and walking out of the temple with her.  
  
"Hiei!! Where are we going?!" she struggled to keep up with him, until he lifted her feet off the ground and sped away.  
  
Kuwabara ran out after them, with Amori clinging to his arm. "Hiei you jerk! Get back here with her!!" he shouted after him, tears stinging his eyes. In one brief moment his entire world had come crashing down. Yukina WAS his world.  
  
"Ahem," Amori casually reminded the world that she existed. Genkai snorted from the doorway.  
  
"Well Kuwabara, you certainly have done it this time," she pointed out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~(Makai)  
  
Yukina clutched Hiei as he leapt effortlessly from tree to tree, eventually stopping and putting her on her feet. He realized how stupid this really was. All he'd wanted was to get her away. He'd felt a strong need to protect her, and this seemed the most logical. Yukina just stood there, looking frightened.  
  
"Good job," an eerie voice echoed from high above them.  
  
"W-Who's there?" Yukina asked tentatively, trying to sound brave.  
  
"Don't freak, it's just me," the voice called again. Hiei cocked a brow and tried to see who it was. The voice sounded . . . oddly familiar . . .  
  
Hiei gasped. "BD?!" he sighed, looking over at Yukina.  
  
"So that's BD, is it?" she said, her voice becoming firm with anger.  
  
Hiei nodded, "Hn."  
  
BD slid off her branch, landing on the ground in a crouched position with a light thud. "Hi, Hiei. Who's this?"  
  
" . . .Yukina," he answered tentatively.  
  
A wicked grin sprouted on BD's face. "Oh, Kuwabara's girl. So, Hiei, what are you and Kuwabara's girlfriend doing in the woods?" she paused. "Alone?"  
  
Hiei glared at her; "She's . . ." he caught himself. Yukina blinked a few times, looking innocent. "She's been dumped," he finished.  
  
Yukina sniffled a bit, not really knowing what to do. Hiei had taken her to Makai . . . why? What could he be thinking?  
  
"I see, so you moved in on her as soon as she was available," BD had stuck her nose where it didn't belong. Hiei fumed, his face burning a bright red. He pulled his arm back and punched her square in the jaw, knocking her clear off her feet and into a tree.  
  
Yukina gasped in horror, bending down over BD, who sat up slowly, rubbing her head. The spot on her forehead wasn't glowing, Hiei noted, so therefore Amori hadn't been lying. BD was definitely in control this time, but her forehead wasn't glowing.  
  
"What the hell, Hiei?!" she demanded.  
  
"Why do you have to go poking into other people's damn business?!"  
  
Yukina stood quietly to the side, watching them argue. She didn't want to be the cause of all the fighting.  
  
"Stop! No more," she pleaded. "Stop fighting."  
  
Hiei looked at her, knowing he'd hurt her. He was sorry, and it showed in his eyes.  
  
"I'm going back now. Kuwabara will have . . ." she choked on her words, " . . . will have taken Amori home by now." She walked away, back towards where they'd come from. Hiei had enough common sense to know not to follow.  
  
BD rubbed her cheek, which was bruising. She glared at him, but he wasn't paying attention. He sat down on a low tree branch, putting his head in his hands. BD noticed tears falling, and she listened to them tap on the ground.  
  
Tap.  
  
Tap.  
  
Tap.  
  
"Hiei?" she ventured, willing to make up. He was upset, and she knew it.  
  
He turned away from her, silently willing her to go away. She didn't.  
  
"Hiei," she repeated, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jerked away sharply.  
  
"Get off me," he demanded, refusing to look at her.  
  
"Hiei, suck up your damned pride and let it out. You obviously care about her," BD scolded.  
  
"What do you know? Go away."  
  
"I know more about it than you, obviously. Look at yourself! You're pitiful! And for what, Yukina? She's going to crawl back to Kuwabara and you know it."  
  
Hiei tried to suck up his tears, and it worked for a bit. He thought about what she'd just said, realizing that Yukina would do just that.  
  
"What about Amori?" he said suddenly.  
  
"Feh. She's such a ditz. All she's doing is screwing up Kuwabara and Yukina's lives."  
  
"I was hoping she'd go for him," Hiei admitted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I didn't stutter."  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"To keep him off my. . ." he caught himself again.  
  
"Your what?"  
  
He hadn't caught himself in time.  
  
"Tell me, Hiei," she demanded.  
  
"No."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
"No."  
  
"Tell me, damnit!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Hiei, you're only screwing YOURSELF over," she said logically.  
  
He gave a heavy sigh. "Can you just go away and mind your own business?"  
  
"I'm new to being a person. I used to be a head voice. I have no business."  
  
He snorted at her, turning away. "Why should I tell you anything? I don't even know you."  
  
"Well that makes sense. I used to be a head voice."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
She sighed, "All right, fine. Be a little brat and hide your feelings. Then watch as Yukina and Kuwabara go off and get married, while you stand on the sidelines and feel miserable for the rest of your life."  
  
He glared at her coldly. "What do you know?"  
  
"It just me or did we already go over that?"  
  
"Shut up, just shut up," he begged, trying to collect his thoughts.  
  
"Oh well. I don't want to help you anyway, you punched me," she scowled and turned to go. She turned to see, one last time, if he was all right. He was lying on his stomach, staring at the ground, deep in thought. She sighed.  
  
"You looks so pathetic, Hiei," she said. He jumped.  
  
"I thought you were leaving," he grunted.  
  
"I can't just leave you here, you look too . . . horribly pathetic," she said, cocking her head to one side to see just how pathetic he looked.  
  
He looked up at her. She gasped at the sight; his normally cold eyes stained with tears, and his usually stoic face masked by sorrow. She frowned.  
  
"Hiei, you look awful. You must really love her to be like this . . ."  
  
"She's my sister, damnit!!" Hiei exploded in a rage, unable to keep it in any longer.  
  
BD was silent for a moment. "Well . . . that explains a lot."  
  
He turned away, blinking away tears. "Are you happy now? Go away," he ordered. He sat alone, looking at the ground, for a long time. He eventually turned to see her again. "Damnit, I said go away!!"  
  
BD was nowhere to be seen. He turned back around and wondered if that was really what he'd wanted.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~* 


	9. uhh, pass?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. ANYTHING! Nada! Zip! Except for my OC's, BD and Amori.  
  
Ok?  
  
The Dragon Chapter 9: uhh. . . pass? ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yukina ran through the portal, wiping away one last tear. She would have gone to Kuwabara's, under other circumstances, but now was not the time. Instead, she opted for heading back to Genkai's, praying that he'd left already.  
  
"Yukina?" Genkai called from her porch. Yukina ran up the last of the stairs.  
  
"Yes, it's me . . . is he gone?" she asked quietly, looking down. Genkai nodded.  
  
"He took her with him, it's all right," Genkai motioned for her to come inside.  
  
Yukina followed, willing to be comforted. "I'll be all right," she said, when Genkai handed her a cup of hot chocolate and let her sit on the sofa.  
  
"All right, Yukina. Just tell me if you want to talk about it," Genkai walked away. Yukina sighed. She really didn't want to talk to Genkai about it. Genkai was a good friend, sure, but for some reason she didn't want to share her feelings with Genkai. A gentle rap on the door startled her, and she stood up to answer it.  
  
"K-Kurama?" Yukina gasped in surprise when she saw the redhead at the door. He grinned at her.  
  
"Yes," he smiled.  
  
"What-?" she asked, confused.  
  
"Have you seen Hiei around? He hasn't come to visit in a few days," Kurama looked a little worried. Yukina blushed deeply at the mention of his name, which scared Kurama a little.  
  
"Y-Yes, he's in Makai," she stepped backward.  
  
"Oh, all right then," Kurama tried to read her face, unable to tell what she was thinking. Genkai walked out from the kitchen, sipping her tea in a nonchalant manner. Yukina and Kurama both wondered for a minute weather she was ALWAYS having tea. More important matters swept their thoughts away, however.  
  
"What's the matter, Kurama?" Genkai asked.  
  
Kurama sighed, "I haven't seen Hiei in a while. I was wondering if he was all right."  
  
Yukina looked away. "Kurama . . ."  
  
"Yes?" he was beginning to become confused. Yukina was almost . . . crying!  
  
"Kuwabara . . . he found someone else . . ." she looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes again. "What do I do?"  
  
He hadn't counted on this. A strong wave of pity overwhelmed him, and he pulled her into a hug. "Yukina, don't worry," he said, "I'll take care of you."  
  
She backed up and looked into his deep green eyes, "You mean that?"  
  
He blinked. "Well, yes. Why wouldn't I?"  
  
"Thank you," she smiled at him and gave him a hug, their warm embrace cheering her up considerably. For some reason, crying on Kurama's shoulder felt so much better than crying on Hiei's. She inhaled deeply. Roses. Kurama smelled of roses. She felt his arm slide around her back, hugging her close.  
  
Genkai backed away, leaving the two alone for a bit. She sipped her tea again, pondering matters. She stood far from them, watching. Cocking her head to one side, she noticed that they looked cute together. Better than with Kuwabara, anyway. Kurama was more suited to her height, at least, though still considerably taller. She smiled and watched them, not realizing that she was spilling her tea all over her shoes. Apparently her hand had found it necessary to follow her head and cock to one side also.  
  
"Genkai, your tea," Kurama muttered eventually, disrupting all the beautiful silence.  
  
Yukina gasped, snapping back to the harsh reality that she lived in. Turning around, she saw that Genkai had, indeed, spilled tea all over her feet. She stifled a giggle.  
  
"I'll get a towel, then," Genkai walked away quietly, thoroughly embarrassed. Once she was out of earshot, Kurama began to laugh. Yukina noticed that he had a deep, rumbling laugh, though quiet, and very pleasant to the ear. She added to the cacophony with her own soft, high-pitched giggles. Kurama smiled at her.  
  
"Are you all right, now?" he asked.  
  
She nodded solemnly, thinking about Hiei. She had hugged him . . . she wondered if that meant anything. A sigh escaped her, because she didn't want it to mean anything.  
  
"What's the matter?" Kurama asked, swaying his body back and forth in a soothing rhythm.  
  
"I'm all right, Kurama, really," she leaned her head against his chest, thinking. She listened to his heartbeat and became captivated, listening to its rhythm. Everything about him right now was methodical. So smooth and rhythmic . . . she closed her eyes and released her problems.  
  
~*~*~*~*~(Makai)  
  
Hiei's chest rose and fell quickly as he caught his breath. He sensed something wrong, but couldn't quite place it. Quickly, he reached up and pulled off his headband, revealing his jagan. He searched for her with the eye, and found her quickly.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Several Makai birds yelled shrilly and flew off, startled by his yelp.  
  
"Kurama . . . with her?!" he said. Frantically leaping up, wondering just how to go about fixing this problem. A deep, cackling laugh from far behind him startled him.  
  
"Show yourself. I have no time for this," he snapped irritably, calming after the sudden disturbance.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, I don't want to FIGHT you. Its me, stupid," BD walked up to him, a nonchalant aura about her. Hiei didn't like that.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Can't you just go away?" he glared deeply at her, hoping to scare her off. She gazed back into his eyes, watching as a puzzled look graced his features. Exactly what was she looking for in those deep crimson eyes?  
  
She stopped her probing look and glared at him. "No."  
  
He blinked, backing up. "Fine then, have it your way." Hiei walked away from her, headed for Genkai's. He didn't have time for this. There were much more important matters awaiting him at Genkai's temple. A certain redheaded bishounen and his little sister were about to have a very rude interruption.  
  
"Where are you going?" BD demanded, running up behind him and grabbing hold of his shoulder. He pulled away quickly.  
  
"Don't touch me," he snapped.  
  
She growled at him. "Tell me where you're going."  
  
"Why?" he demanded.  
  
"Because you're in no shape to go screwing up your life," she said, matter- of-factly.  
  
"Hn. How would you know?"  
  
She sighed, giving him a "you-should-KNOW-this" look. "I know. You just cried your little heart out. What else IS there to do, but screw up your entire life somehow?"  
  
Hiei blinked a few times, taking this in. He shook his head quickly. "Just mind your own business."  
  
"I won't."  
  
Fuming, he turned sharply to face her, startling her a bit. "Listen, you don't know me. You don't have any right to be sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. If you go away now, I won't kill you," he warned, staring directly into her eyes to show that he meant it. She looked back, giving him that probing look again. He turned away.  
  
"Come on, just tell me, Hiei. Then I'll leave you alone."  
  
"No."  
  
"It's about your sister, isn't it?" she smiled giddily, knowing she'd hit a weak spot. After all, even if it wasn't about his sister, purely mentioning her would do SOMETHING. The poor guy just bawled like a baby for almost an hour.  
  
He sighed. "Don't you EVER go away?"  
  
"No, not really. And why do you always say that?" she smirked. He was getting desperate to get rid of her, which made her all the happier to follow him around.  
  
~*~*~*~*~(Kuwabara residence)  
  
"Amori?" Kuwabara wrung his shirt through his hands nervously, wrinkling it beyond the point of no return. No fabric softener in the world could fix that.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You scared Yukina off," he blinked, still quite lost.  
  
Amori smiled at him. "Yes, and now we're alone."  
  
He winced. "Uhh, yeah. I guess so, but Yukina . . ."  
  
"Not quite so alone, punk." Shizuru called out from the kitchen. "Don't get fresh with my brother, or I'll personally see to it that you have an 'accident'."  
  
Amori blinked innocently. "Me? Punk?"  
  
"Shizuru! Stop messing with my friends!" Kuwabara whined.  
  
Shizuru walked into the room, glaring at the both of them. "You don't even know her. What happened to Yukina?" she demanded. Amori cringed at the mention of HER.  
  
"You have no say in this, Shizuru," Kuwabara said. "Besides, Yukina's okay. HIEI took her off someplace."  
  
Shizuru gasped suddenly, dropping her cigarette onto the floor. It burned a little spot into the carpet, until eventually Amori picked it up. "You forgot this," she said nervously, handing it to Shizuru.  
  
"H-Hiei did?" Shizuru took her cigarette and put it back in her mouth, regaining her composure.  
  
"Yeah, why, do you think?" Kuwabara stared at her, wondering why this was such a big deal. Sure, Hiei was allowed to have the hots for Yukina, but Yukina was HIS girlfriend.  
  
Amori blinked a few times. "I don't know, he grabbed her and did this 'whoosh' thing and they were gone," she said.  
  
Kuwabara clenched his fist and nodded in agreement. "I'll kill him."  
  
"Excuse me?" Shizuru asked.  
  
"I . . . will . . . kill him."  
  
Shizuru and Amori sweat dropped and watched his anger mount. "I'll kill that little . . ." Kuwabara trailed off.  
  
"Calm down, baby brother," Shizuru put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.  
  
"Get off! Where'd they go?!"  
  
"I don't know. . ." Amori said truthfully. Kuwabara fumed.  
  
"Well as soon as I get my hands on that little punk . . ." he clenched his fist again and shook it, grinning evilly as he imagined Hiei's painful strangle.  
  
Shizuru backed away slowly. "All right, you do that . . ."  
  
He leapt out of his seat, reaching for the phone to call Yusuke.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~* (Urumeshi Residence)  
  
Ring. . .  
  
Ring. . .  
  
"Damn it!!" Yusuke shouted.  
  
Ring. . .  
  
Ring. . .  
  
"Yusuke, just get it," Keiko said.  
  
Ring. . .  
  
Ring. .  
  
Ri- "WHAT?!" Yusuke shouted, scaring the pants off Kuwabara.  
  
"Hey, Urumeshi. I got some bad news," Kuwabara gasped, recovering from the sudden outburst.  
  
"What?!" Yusuke snapped grouchily.  
  
"Hiei ran off and stole my girlfriend!!" Kuwabara whined miserably.  
  
Yusuke paused a minute. "He did WHAT now?"  
  
"He grabbed Yukina, did his 'whoosh' thing, and now he's gone!" Kuwabara began to pout like a baby.  
  
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" Yusuke spat. "Calm down!!"  
  
"How would you feel if he'd taken Keiko?!"  
  
Yusuke paused. "I'd wring his neck. But that's besides the point!"  
  
"No it's not," Kuwabara pointed out.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
CLICK.  
  
"What's wrong with Kuwabara?" Keiko inquired.  
  
"How did you know it was him?"  
  
"I just know these things. Besides, you said 'man,' how many people could that be?"  
  
"I see," Yusuke nodded. "Well he- uh . . . nothing."  
  
Keiko cocked an eyebrow and stared at him. "Oh. Okay, then . . ."  
  
"Now, where were we?" he slid his arm around her waist and hugged her close. She giggled and turned the volume back up on the TV. Atsuko smiled from the kitchen, watching the pair on the couch.  
  
"Aah, young love," she sighed.  
  
"What was that?" Yusuke demanded.  
  
"Oh, uh . . . nothing," she sweat dropped and smiled innocently.  
  
After a few minutes of thinking about it, he decided to get up and go to Kuwabara's. Yusuke wasn't one to leave his best friend hanging.  
  
"Where are you going . . .?" Keiko asked, looking upset.  
  
"To Kuwabara's, want to come?" he invited.  
  
"Sure!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*(Kuwabara Residence)  
  
DING-DONG.  
  
"AAH!"  
  
"Calm down, stupid. It's the doorbell." Shizuru pointed. "Go get it."  
  
Yusuke knocked impatiently at the door until Kuwabara pulled it open. "What- oh! Hey, Urumeshi," Kuwabara greeted.  
  
"Hello," Amori smiled shyly from behind him.  
  
"Who is this?" Keiko asked.  
  
"My name is Amori. Yours?"  
  
"Keiko."  
  
"Yusuke."  
  
"Kuwabara."  
  
"DUH!" they all shouted at once.  
  
" . . .Oh. I knew that."  
  
"Well, now that we all know each other, what's up, Yusuke?" Shizuru grinned politely, walking up behind Kuwabara and Amori.  
  
"We were going to head for Genkai's temple," Yusuke started.  
  
"We were?" Keiko asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"W-Why?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
Yusuke sighed, "The things I put up with . . . you should know, idiot!"  
  
"All right, let's fix the problem!" Amori clenched her fist, a determined look in her eyes.  
  
"Problem?" Keiko asked, completely left in the dark.  
  
"It's a long story," Kuwabara said truthfully; sweat dropping and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.  
  
"So, let's go!" Shizuru smiled and led them out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*(Genkai's temple)  
  
"More guests?! At this hour?!" Genkai frantically bustled about the kitchen, making more tea.  
  
All of the 'guests' now sat outside on her porch, the starry night sky overhead creating a pretty atmosphere.  
  
(A/N: in case you're s-l-o-w . . . the guests consist of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Keiko, Amori, and Yukina.)  
  
Kuwabara continually glanced over at Yukina, who would in turn hug Kurama. Amori caught this, and hugged Kuwabara tightly.  
  
Eventually, he piped up, "You're strangling me . . ."  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
  
Kurama sweat dropped. He could feel the tension in the air. Kuwabara wasn't quite sure who to hate now, Kurama or Hiei. However, he wasn't about to stand up to either of them. However better he was, Hiei and Kurama were always scary opponents.  
  
"So. . . what's going on?" Yusuke openly discussed the problem, as Kuwabara, Yukina, and Amori gasped in horror.  
  
"Well, you see . . ." Amori started.  
  
"She came along and . . ." Yukina continued.  
  
"They're fighting over me!" Kuwabara seemed to have hit a conclusion. And he was damn proud of it, too.  
  
Yusuke smiled gleefully. He was enjoying this. "So what of Hiei?"  
  
Yukina gasped, clutching Kurama for protection. She'd grown quite attached to the redhead in the past few minutes.  
  
"What OF Hiei?" Hiei's voice loomed above them, from one of the many trees surrounding Genkai's temple. They all jumped, backing up.  
  
Hiei was pissed, and he wasn't about to let ANYBODY forget it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
END CHAPTER  
  
Oh!! CLIFFY!! Ha ha haaaa! Oh well. Don't pester me with annoying reviews and I'll update quick.  
  
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More more more more more etc.  
  
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I suggest . . . place a suggestion HERE  
  
And also I didn't like the way you blah blah blah  
  
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SIGNED meaning "SIGNED REVIEW"  
  
. . . but that's enough of my ranting. Just review, see that pretty purple button? If it's confusing, I promise the next chapter will help.  
  
Flames and Torches,  
  
~Black Dragon~ 


	10. Here to stay?

Disclaimer: standard disclaimers apply  
  
This chapter had me puzzled . . . I wasn't sure how to go about fixing this. But I figured it out and all is well!  
  
And, as for all you reviewers . . . PLEASE, dear God, just spell the names right. I guarantee you if it's in this fic, it's correct. *shudders*  
  
~*~*~*~* The Dragon Chapter 10: Here to stay? ~*~*~*~*  
  
Hiei leapt out of his tree, katana in hand to look threatening. He landed on his left knee, with his right hand grasping his katana firmly and holding it up horizontally across his chest. His left hand was on the ground, steadying him. Lifting his head, a glint of evil sparked in his eyes.  
  
"Hiei, don't do anything drastic," Kurama pleaded.  
  
"Yeah, cool it," Yusuke edged nervously.  
  
"Hiei . . .?" Yukina asked, innocent as ever. Kurama was holding her hand. Hiei glared deeply at his 'friend.'  
  
"Don't go killing anybody, shrimp," Kuwabara warned. Hiei glared at him too, and that shut him up real quick. It also scared Amori out of her mind.  
  
Hiei looked at both of them. Kurama . . . Kuwabara . . . Kurama . . . Kuwabara . . . which one gets killed first?  
  
Yukina looked at him angrily, "Hiei, I don't really understand why you're angry, but you shouldn't hold a grudge against your friends!"  
  
Hiei stopped short and looked at her, thinking. Maybe . . . maybe BD wasn't as stupid as she looked. She'd been right about this, he nearly HAD ruined his entire life, like she'd said. There was Yukina, hands on her hips, crimson eyes boring holes in his skull, angry for probably the first time in her life. Maybe that BD girl had been right for once . . .  
  
Suddenly she ran up behind him, dressed in a white, fuzzy bathrobe. Gods know where she got one of those. Draped over her shoulder was a blue towel, and she was wearing no shoes. The entire crowd turned to stare at her in unison as she skipped merrily, her hair hanging down her back and flaunting its blue highlights gaily.  
  
As she passed Hiei, she said, "I TOLD you you'd screw up your life." With that, she skipped happily towards Genkai's. "I'm going to take a shower now. Ja!"  
  
Hiei blinked, thoroughly confused. So maybe she WAS as stupid as she looked . . . she fit the part right now. The angry glint in his eyes was replaced with a clouded-over look of surprise and annoyance.  
  
Genkai spit a mouthful of tea, spraying some of her guests.  
  
"Say it, don't spray it, Grandma," Yusuke said, wiping some of the brown liquid from his green jumpsuit and wiping it off on his pants, completely defeating the purpose.  
  
"In MY temple?!" Genkai ran into the house, chasing after BD. Amori shook her head.  
  
"Trust MY evil side to be such a moron," she said.  
  
Yusuke started to laugh, ignoring the fact that he'd been sprayed with tea. Elbowing Keiko in the ribs, she got the idea and started laughing too. The idea was to get Hiei into a good mood (or as good a mood as Hiei can be in), but it didn't really work. Everybody just sat there and stared at Yusuke and Keiko, who were laughing their asses off for apparently no reason.  
  
Hiei cocked a confused eyebrow, and they shut up. "Okay . . . that was weird . . ." Kuwabara said.  
  
"Uhh, yeah," Yusuke coughed nervously. Keiko glared at him for making her look like a fool as well.  
  
Genkai came out of her temple, looking perturbed.  
  
"What was that about, Genkai?" Keiko asked innocently.  
  
Genkai's left eye twitched a few times. "She's in MY shower!"  
  
NOW the entire crowd got to laugh, this time at Genkai's expense. She looked ticked, and went back inside to get tea. Eventually the laughter subsided and the crowd, turned to Hiei, who had apparently not been laughing.  
  
"Hey, did anybody else notice that Genkai ALWAYS has tea?" Yusuke asked.  
  
They all nodded in unison, which had a scary "wave-like" effect.  
  
"Are you okay now, Hiei?" Kurama asked tentatively.  
  
Hiei glared at him again, still wondering. He didn't want to ruin his life, by spilling everything about Yukina. Also, killing Kurama would be a bit drastic. However, he was still up for killing Kuwabara for breaking his sister's heart. Yeah.  
  
Directing his glare at Kuwabara, he smirked, "Heh, you'll pay." And with that, he set Kuwabara's hair on fire.  
  
"Ack! Kuwa-kun!" Amori shrieked, patting the top of his head to try and put it out. This only resulted in a burned hand. Kurama rolled his emerald eyes and reached up into his hair, pulling out a plant seed. Clutching it firmly in his fist, it sprouted into a cactus-sized leafy plant. Placing it in the flames atop Kuwabara's head, the flame turned blue and cold, and then died.  
  
"How did you do that?!" Amori was amazed. Kurama smiled; glad to show off for once.  
  
"It's quite simple, really. I use my spirit energy to manipulate the seed into a plant. This particular one puts out fires."  
  
Amori listened, fascinated, and Yukina smiled just to be polite. Keiko had been eyeing Hiei nervously, and grasped Yusuke's hand firmly in her own.  
  
"C'mon, Yusuke. We should be going," she prodded, pulling him along. Yusuke reluctantly waved at them all and could barely gasp out a "Ja!" before Keiko dragged him off.  
  
Yukina yawned to herself, and Hiei sheathed his katana, growing tired of this 'game.' Amori patted on Kuwabara's singed hair with her burned hand sadly, her deep baby-blue eyes feeling sorry for him. He looked at her and blushed, holding her hand and grinning. This perked her up a bit. Yukina reached over to tap Kurama gently on the shoulder.  
  
"Yes?" he asked tentatively, watching Hiei out of the corner of his eye all the while.  
  
"What should we do now?" she asked quietly. She was over her angry spell, and her eyes showed that she was sorry for getting excited. Hiei noticed . . . and it caused him to feel obnoxiously guilty.  
  
"You should go to sleep," he advised. This pulled Kuwabara and Amori out of their little moment to stare at him.  
  
"Where will Amori go?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"Don't know. Don't care," Hiei said.  
  
Amori turned away, feeling hurt. Kuwabara put a hand on her shoulder and comforted her.  
  
"It's all right, ignore the little guy. You can stay at Genkai's," Kuwabara offered.  
  
"Excuse me?!" Genkai steamed. "You can't just go-."  
  
"That would be lovely, thank you!" Amori smiled happily, completely missing Genkai's outburst in her joy. She was, after all, homeless.  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes, ignoring the cute moment and focusing on his sister. For once, she was looking straight at him. He blinked. This was new, usually she was with Kuwabara, but now that Amori was there . . . he smiled. Awhile back, when he'd met Amori in a dark alley before BD had been separated, that had been his intent. Get her away from that idiot by busying him with Amori.  
  
Well, it had a few setbacks, but his plan still worked.  
  
"Are you okay?" Yukina asked him, pulling him out of his trance-like state.  
  
He paused and gulped in surprise before sliding his hands into his pockets and regaining his usual cool state. "Hn."  
  
Yukina grinned. She had heard that enough times to know that it was one of the strange little ways Hiei showed he cared. Either that or he was just a short freak with nothing to say, but somehow deep inside her she felt that this was not the case.  
  
"I'm going to sleep now, Genkai," Yukina bowed politely and walked into the temple. Genkai only nodded to acknowledge that she'd heard.  
  
"Seeing as it's the middle of the night, all you low-lives can all go do whatever. I'm going to bed now, like normal people do," she announced harshly, turning on her heel and walking inside, closing the door behind her quickly.  
  
"Well," Kuwabara said. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"  
  
"All right, good night," Amori kissed his forehead and smiled shyly, then turning quickly and running inside, embarrassed.  
  
Kuwabara turned and ran towards his house, knowing that Shizuru would kill him for this. She'd been intent on coming along, and had even led them out the door. Of course, Kuwabara didn't want his big sister poking her nose in all of his business, so he'd gotten Yusuke to help lose her, and it had worked. As they got on the bus, Yusuke had conveniently given her the wrong ticket, causing her to get kicked off. Then Kuwabara promised they'd hold the bus, and they ditched her that way.  
  
Hiei scoffed at Kuwabara, watching him go. Then he turned to Kurama, who appeared nervous.  
  
"I'm not going to KILL you, kitsune," he said.  
  
"Well I wasn't sure," Kurama admitted.  
  
"I should, but I won't," Hiei said after a few seconds of thought. No, killing Kurama would be too drastic for this. Besides, he seemed to be backing off. "I do have a question, though."  
  
"Yes?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Why were you . . . with . . . Yukina?" Hiei asked slowly, staring demandingly into the fox's eyes.  
  
"She was upset, and I comforted her, that's all, Hiei."  
  
Hiei nodded, satisfied. Conversing deep matters like this was definitely not his style. Crouching low to the ground and springing strongly, he twisted in the air and caught himself skillfully on the branch of one of the large trees outside Genkai's temple. Kurama saw nothing but a blackish blur, and his little friend was gone.  
  
Shaking his head with a chuckle, he walked calmly down the steps of Genkai's temple and towards his own home, where his mother would surely be waiting up.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* 


	11. Reality Check

DISCLAIMER: *sighs* when will you people learn? I STILL don't own anything. I'm working on it; I'm working on it!!  
  
Thanks to all you pleasant reviewer people. You make me happy. I'll do a shoutout-thing to you guys at the end of this; I don't care how long it'll take.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* The Dragon Chapter 11: Reality Check ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Running fast, she turned sharply to face her pursuer. A tall figure clad in black and engulfed by shadow held a golden book in one arm and a scythe in the other. Straining though she was, in the dark, his face appeared as only a black veil.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want from me??" she shouted, on the verge of tears for her fear. However, the words came out in only a faint whisper. All of her voice had left her. In response to her faint questions, the demon lifted his scythe and brought it down upon her. The length of the scythe stretched behind her, and the curved tip of the bloodstained blade reached her neck. A chill ran down her spine as the blade sunk slowly through her skin . . .  
  
"I'm going to die this way, aren't I . . .?" were her last thoughts.  
  
Suddenly she felt a violent shaking to her shoulders.  
  
"Wake up, BD!" shouted a familiar voice.  
  
Her rescuer shook more violently as she did not wake up right away, raising her off the floor as he shook. This pounded her shoulder blades against the ground with a painful "thud, thud, thud."  
  
"I'm up, dammit!" shouted BD in a fury, sitting up and rubbing her shoulders.  
  
"Finally, I thought you were dying or something," said Amori.  
  
She looked around the room. It had all been a dream . . . but so real . . . she blinked a few times. Surrounding her were Genkai, Yukina, and Amori.  
  
"Since when do you care?" BD scowled. Pushing Amori away, she backed up and leaned her back against the wall in the small room Genkai had let her borrow. Amori looked hurt.  
  
"You don't have to be so mean, you know," she said. "I was trying to help you."  
  
Yukina and Genkai backed up and let Amori stand. The three of them walked out of the room without another word, letting Amori's kindness sink in.  
  
Of course, BD being who she was, she didn't let it get to her. Scowling all the more, she scoffed and stood up. "Stupid Amori . . . she woke me up," she thought aloud. Moonlight poured through the lone window, illuminating the entire room with a soft white glow. Walking over to it, she looked out at the trees and starry sky, and admired it for its beauty.  
  
"BD?" a tentative voice crept up behind her.  
  
"Yes, Yukina?" she asked, recognizing her.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?" BD demanded.  
  
"You were shouting that you were going to die, and I was worried," Yukina admitted.  
  
BD paused, thinking. "It was only a dream. I'm all right."  
  
"You're sure? Could I get you anything?" Yukina offered politely. BD shook her head and refused.  
  
"All right then, I'll see you in the morning," Yukina mumbled before bowing politely and exiting.  
  
Turning back towards the sky, she thought about her dream. What could it mean? Shaking her head in disbelief, she chuckled at herself.  
  
"Who am I kidding?" she thought aloud. "It's just a stupid dream. Damn human bodies . . . head voices aren't supposed to dream."  
  
"Which makes perfect sense," a deep, intimidating voice echoed slightly from somewhere close to her, though she couldn't tell where. "Seeing as you're no longer a 'head voice.'"  
  
She thought a minute, backing away from the window. "W-who . . .?" For several seconds, all was quiet. BD turned and sat down on the floor, leaning back against the wall. She considered closing the window, but it had been open all night already. Besides, it was a warm night, and the stars were beautiful. Sighing, she closed her eyes.  
  
A few seconds later, the faint sound of someone's feet tapping the ground startled her out of her daze. Looking up, she saw who had caused her disturbance and gasped in disbelief.  
  
"Hiei?" she asked stupidly, cocking her head to one side and blinking.  
  
"Hn," he replied curtly.  
  
"What do you want?" she snapped, regaining composure quickly. Hiei just stood there, silent and stoic. She couldn't read his expression at all.  
  
A soft smile graced his features as he slowly walked towards her. "You had a bad dream," he stated bluntly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
He said nothing.  
  
" . . . And?"  
  
"And I know how you feel."  
  
She startled at his words. He was turned away, looking out the window. The words sounded choked, as if it had taken a great effort just to spit them out.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked, feigning her cool act. The concern in her voice was faintly audible, though Hiei seemed elsewhere.  
  
He sighed deeply, as though he felt like he was being torn apart inside. Like he wanted to say something, but at the same time didn't. Patiently, she listened and waited for him to tell her what was on his mind. When he didn't, she got annoyed.  
  
"Are you just going to stand there all night?" she snapped without warning.  
  
Turning sharply, Hiei glared at her. "It's none of your-"  
  
"None of my business?" she whispered. "If it's none of my business, why are you here?"  
  
He turned away from her, deep in thought. Feeling guilty, she tried to mend her mistakes.  
  
"Do you want to hear what I saw?" she asked.  
  
"In your dream?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Feh," he said.  
  
"I'll take that as a 'yes' and tell you anyway," she grinned cheerily, ignoring his rude smirk. "It was all dark, everything, black. Then there was somebody . . . demon, I think; he was too tall to be human. Dressed all in black. He came after me with a long scythe and it pierced into the back of my neck, and I died in the dream. The odd thing was, he was carrying a golden book of some sort. I don't know if that's significant or not. Anyway, I died, and that's why I panicked. I couldn't fight back, and I couldn't scream. It was-"  
  
"You could very well scream," Hiei interrupted.  
  
She looked at him; unsure weather or not this was a joke. Though to see him grin made her feel as though she'd done something right.  
  
"Do you think it means anything?" she asked. "I don't think I believe in all that stuff, it's dumb. But I'm new to the 'dreaming thing,' so I can't really say."  
  
"Hn. That's idiocy. It's only a dream," he said. BD suddenly got the strange feeling that he was talking more to himself than to her.  
  
After a few moments of listening to the silence, BD grew curious as to why Hiei was acting so strangely.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
  
"Fine," he said, refusing to look at her. Hiei stared out the window, lost deep in thought.  
  
"Is this about . . ." she trailed off, really having no idea as to what it might be about.  
  
Hiei turned to face her, and his eyes looked deeply troubled. Again she got the feeling that he was torn apart inside, that he wanted to say something but could not.  
  
Making an executive decision, he sighed and began. "It's about Yukina."  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
Yes. Cliffhanger. Am I not EVIL? Well I needed a good dose of evil-ness. I was especially nice today. I lent somebody a tape to record Yu Yu Hakusho because he had to go somewhere and didn't want to miss it. Poor guy.  
  
Oh yes, the shoutout-section I promised. Here goes nothing, and this may be awhile.  
  
*gasp* I have WAY more reviews than I thought, so I'm only doing signed ones. Does that give you initiative to sign? Yay!  
  
REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 10 ONLY (sorry guys, I just don't have the time to go back and give you all credit for reviewing, this is more for ME than it is for YOU anyway)  
  
KitsuneDreams - who ever said I didn't like you? I don't remember saying that . . . but then again I'm an idiot so you never know. I'm glad you like it, though. Thanks for reviewing. ^.^  
  
Philly Steak 'n Cheese - WAI I love your penname. Glad you like. Don't worry! I have action covered! Sheesh, you people act like I'm STUPID or something! . . . don't answer that. *thumbs up* go you!  
  
The Dark Magician People - uhh, sorry, you want crazy and insane go to my other fics. BD's not *that* stupid! . . . . . okay, so maybe she is. . . oh well! That's okay! we love her anyway!  
  
Shadow Fusion - that was my brilliant idea for the chapter. GO ME! I liked it too. You rock!  
  
JoeyWheelersGirl - glad to hear it. I'm not trying to be confusing, it just happens sometimes. It makes sense in MY head, but that's another story entirely.  
  
Kia the Pyromaniac - thanks! I love praise. Go you!  
  
Draith - well I thought about it. . . nobody likes dead kitsunes except for me, so I figured I'd be unusually kind to the Kurama fans and let him live. Besides, Hiei would be upset PLUS the dead fox, and then there's this big bloody mess of angst and death . . . OH MY GOD! I just got an idea for a fic. Thanks a bunch!  
  
Well, that was eventful!  
  
Flames and Torches,  
  
~BD-chan~ 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I *still* don't own it. When will you people learn? I own BD and Amori, though. And I basically own Ahiru, and a whole bunch of other OC's that you guys don't know about, but that's not the point. They aren't in this story. O.o  
  
Side note of importance: Uhh, when I said PG13, I meant it. *Contains adult humor* not that bad, though. Heh heh . . . while I'm on the subject . . . I don't own viagra or ANYTHING having to do with it. (Don't worry folks; it's not what you think)  
  
The cliffy was REALLY mean and I'll update and make it LONG this time to make up for it. Ready? GO!  
  
~*~*~*~*~* The Dragon Chapter 12: insert title here ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"It's about . . . Yukina?" she seemed confused.  
  
Hiei turned away, regretting having said anything. "Just . . . forget it."  
  
'Yukina, Yukina, Yukina. . . damn! Why don't I remember the important people?' BD was thinking. 'Wait! Yukina is Hiei's- I remember now!!' she smiled broadly, proud for having remembered. Hiei cocked a confused brow and stared at her blankly for second.  
  
"What about Yukina?" she prodded.  
  
"I said forget it," he snapped.  
  
"No."  
  
"Will you-!" he started, glaring at her murderously. She jumped back, frightened by his expression. When he stopped, she smirked knowingly.  
  
"Listen, Hiei. It'll be good for you to let it out-"  
  
"Shut up, damnit! I don't want to talk about it!"  
  
Shrinking back quietly, hiding her disappointment, she turned away. "Fine then, hop out the window and go do whatever it is you do."  
  
Pausing, she didn't hear anything. When she turned around, he was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* (Urumeshi Residence, next morning)  
  
Yusuke slid his bedroom door open with a bang, smiling broadly.  
  
"Why so happy today?" Atsuko asked, startling him.  
  
"M-mom? You're up?"  
  
"You sound surprised." She grinned at him and laughed. "You look like one of those 'happy guys' from the viagra commercials!"  
  
Yusuke flushed. "Mom!"  
  
She laughed, "Just kidding. Why so happy, though?"  
  
Yusuke slid a hand into his pocket, an air of nonchalance surrounding his every motion. Carefully he pulled out a dark blue, velvet box and held it out to her.  
  
Atsuko looked as though she might cry. "Y-Yusuke . . . for me?"  
  
Yusuke fell over, anime-style.  
  
"NO! NOT FOR YOU!!! For Keiko! No da!" he shouted.  
  
His mother only smiled at him. "I was wondering how long it would take you."  
  
Yusuke fell down again.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?!"  
  
"Duh! You've had the cutest crush on her since the second grade! Her parents know too. We watched you two grow up together and wondered how long it would take you," she grinned, full of herself.  
  
"You mean . . . you knew all along?" Yusuke looked confused.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Blinking profusely, he sat there while Atsuko laughed at him. "Go get her, Yusuke!" her eyes shone with pride, as though she'd actually helped in raising the boy.  
  
~*~*~*~*(Reikai)  
  
Koenma laughed his little diapered ass off, while Botan brushed away tears.  
  
"Koenma-sama, isn't it romantic?" she asked dreamily. On Koenma's big- screen deluxe super TV-ma-bobber, Yusuke and his mother shared a quiet cup of coffee before he headed to the Yukimura ramen shop.  
  
"Let's see what else is on," Koenma said, digging through papers to find his remote.  
  
"Aah, Koenma sir!! You can't- those are important, sir!!" George cried.  
  
"Ogre, shut up!" the little prince sweat dropped as he couldn't find it, and the poor oni continued to panic. Botan only giggled.  
  
"FOUND IT!" he cried triumphantly, much to George's relief.  
  
"Oh, goody!" Botan smiled.  
  
All was silent for a moment.  
  
" . . . Goody, Botan?" Koenma asked.  
  
"Y-yes . . ." she said.  
  
Then Deity of Death turned her back and sweat dropped, as Koenma laughed at her.  
  
"Oh, shut up and change the channel!" she snapped grumpily.  
  
"Okay, okay," Koenma replied, still grinning with amusement.  
  
Changing the channel several times, stopping only once to see two humans try to kill each other. The three found it hilarious that they were fighting over a garbage can, which they believed was an incredibly beautiful young woman named 'Cookie,' who had wandered off several minutes before. As the two drunks walked off, Koenma switched the channel one more time. On the screen was Amori, her blonde hair swaying back and forth as she walked down the street. In one hand she held a rose, the other was busily toying with her hair. Headed towards Kuwabara's house.  
  
Botan suddenly burst into fits of laughter, while Koenma and George only stared at her insanity with mild interest.  
  
"Botan . . . what is so funny?" Koenma demanded, after listening to this madness for a few seconds.  
  
"It's so cute! She got romance tips from Kurama! See?" she pointed. "Look there. I know where she is; she's on her way back from Kurama's house. I've been there hundreds of times," she explained.  
  
"Oh, I see," said George.  
  
"Hello? Oh! Konnichiwa, Amori-chan!" Kuwabara grinned broadly, and the three in Reikai turned to watch. Handing him the rose and giving him a warm hug, Amori looked content.  
  
"I missed you at Genkai's," she mumbled, releasing him from the embrace slowly and leaning back to admire him.  
  
"Awwww!" Botan exclaimed, hopping up and down excitedly. Koenma made a face and flipped through endless channels of nothingness. George and Botan began to show signs of boredom. Koenma stared straight ahead, unblinking, scanning the billions of channels for familiar faces.  
  
"AHA!" he yelled, scaring George out of a light sleep where he was standing. Botan stood up from where she'd been sitting on the floor, drawing kitties on it with a blue colored pencil.  
  
"What is it now, Koenma-sama?" Botan asked politely. Koenma pointed at the TV triumphantly, as if he'd won a game.  
  
"Hiei! He's hard to get," the toddler boasted proudly.  
  
" . . . Right," George sweat dropped.  
  
Koenma only smiled at the TV. Just as he did so, Hiei vanished from sight in a blur-type fashion.  
  
"DAMNIT!" Koenma shouted, much to Botan's dismay.  
  
"Koenma, sir! Watch your tongue!" she scolded him with a finger, as she would any child.  
  
And all the while, poor George put up with it all. He's so under appreciated.  
  
~*~*~*~*(Genkai's Temple, noon-ish that day)  
  
"Nice to see you're out of your room," Genkai nodded a greeting. "Konnichiwa."  
  
"Mmmm . . . that late already . . ." BD seemed detached from the world, and sleepy.  
  
Genkai nodded. "Yes. Lunch?" she asked, motioning to a large pot of ramen set over a flame in the kitchen to keep it warm.  
  
"Arigatou," BD mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Sleep well?" Genkai asked.  
  
BD nodded, only halfway listening to the conversation. "Did Amori leave already?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Genkai replied. Pouring herself a small bowl of ramen, BD sighed contentedly and seated herself at Genkai's table. Folding her feet comfortably under herself on the floor, she set down her bowl to ask Genkai a question.  
  
"Genkai . . ." she began. "That guy, Hiei. He's got some issues, doesn't he?"  
  
Genkai inhaled deeply, as though about to tell a story. BD tucked her feet up underneath her, ready to listen. "Yes and no," Genkai began. "He's the quiet type. You have to understand that he doesn't want to talk about himself. Respect his privacy," she advised.  
  
"I see," BD murmured, thinking.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" Genkai mused.  
  
BD startled. "Oh, I um . . . just wondering."  
  
"I see," Genkai replied.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* (Yukimura Ramen Shop)  
  
Yusuke slid open the door to Keiko's parents' ramen shop.  
  
Keiko's mother looked up, "Why Yusuke! What a pleasant surprise!" Her father nodded in agreement.  
  
"Is Keiko . . ." he started.  
  
"I'm here!" Keiko bounced happily out from the back of the shop, where she was helping out with the cooking. Since it was Sunday, no school meant that she got to come here.  
  
Yusuke smiled broadly, holding out his arms for her. She ran towards him, hugging him gently and pulling back to admire him. "You seem happy today," she mused.  
  
Yusuke nodded. "Where would you like to go?" he asked, before turning to her parents behind the counter. "If that's okay with you two, that is," he added politely.  
  
They both nodded, which pleased Keiko very much. "Okay, Yusuke. Let's go!" she held onto his hand and they walked out of the shop together.  
  
Keiko's mother sighed. "Do you think he'll pop the question anytime soon, dear?" she asked.  
  
"I hope so," he replied with a smile.  
  
~*~*~*~* (With Keiko and Yusuke, at the park) "The park, Yusuke? That's so romantic," Keiko sighed dreamily, squeezing his hand lightly.  
  
"Thanks," Yusuke blushed.  
  
Keiko gasped in surprise as a sakura petal spiraled down to the ground in front of her. She picked it up and admired it. Yusuke carefully took it from her and slid it into her hair, behind her ear. Keiko blushed and gave him a hug. "Yusuke, you're so romantic today!" she seemed pleased.  
  
After a few seconds, Yusuke reluctantly pulled out of her embrace. "Keiko, I need to tell you something . . ."  
  
"Hmm?" Keiko looked up at him, then down as he kneeled before her.  
  
"Keiko . . . would you . . . would you marry me?" he blushed a beet red, extending his cupped hands up to her. She took his hands in her own and parted them, revealing the blue velvet box.  
  
Tears swelled in Keiko's pretty brown eyes, and rolled down her cheeks slowly. Yusuke blinked, not wanting to see her cry. His entire body shook with nervousness, worse even than when he was fighting demons for Koenma.  
  
"I will," Keiko finally managed. "Yes, I will."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~* (Reikai)  
  
"Botan! Calm down!" Koenma ordered, to no avail.  
  
"But sir, it's just so exciting!" she spiraled around the room, dancing excitedly. "We'll have to help plan the wedding!"  
  
"I'm sure he'll call if he needs you. Speaking of which, the dead people need you! Go!" he pointed, and Botan reluctantly hopped on her oar and flew off.  
  
"Koenma, sir," George said quietly.  
  
"What now, ogre?"  
  
"There's a cat on the floor."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"A cat, drawn in blue colored pencil, I think," George mumbled.  
  
Koenma's left eye twitched. "BOTAN!!" ~*~*~*~*~* (Genkai's Temple)  
  
"Okay, see you then," Genkai hung up the phone gently and turned to BD. "Amori and Kuwabara are coming back for dinner. Yukina went out before you woke up, she'll be back soon. She only went to the store to get things for dinner." Genkai explained.  
  
"I see," BD mumbled, not in the mood to put up with Amori right now.  
  
"You can 'chill' here for awhile, or whatever. Just be back for dinner, or Yukina will be disappointed," Genkai warned her.  
  
"All right, I think I'll go for a walk," she said, inspired.  
  
"Ja ne," Genkai watched her walk out the back door and into the forest, vanishing into the thick fauna in an instant.  
  
~*~*~*~* (Forest behind Genkai's Temple)  
  
Walking through the forest, BD admired it for its beauty. The trees were tall and twisting, and she noted several of them that would be good to sit in. As she walked, she thought about her life, and how much it would be different now that she wasn't a head voice. She lifted her right arm slowly and ran a hand across her black dragon tattoo, thinking. This had been Amori's body first, not hers. She wondered if Amori was adjusting to her new body as well.  
  
She let her arm drop to her side, and turned to walk through the forest again. As she got farther and farther from Genkai's, she could feel the aura of the forest surrounding her. It was deathly silent, save for a few birds singing, or a cricket or frog chirping here and there. BD closed her eyes and walked straight ahead, peacefully listening to the forest sounds around her. She soon discovered this to be a bad idea, having walked into a tree, and opened her eyes again.  
  
"What the-" she stopped short. Standing perfectly still, her body tensed. An immense amount of energy was somewhere close. Slowly she reached down to grasp the hilt of her katana, and cursed under her breath, remembering that it had been stolen. Looking around, she couldn't see where the energy was coming from. The sound of her labored breathing covered up even the forest sounds. To listen, she held her breath for several seconds.  
  
Releasing her breath, she looked up. "Hiei?!" she gasped in surprise.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Damn, Hiei! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she scolded. "What are you doing way out here? I thought I was alone."  
  
"I would be alone, if you hadn't come along," he snorted.  
  
She stepped back a bit, thinking. "You seem upset," she noted. "What's on your mind?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Is it still Yukina?" she asked tentatively, looking up. All she could see was the side of his arm and one boot, hanging down from the tree limb. He pulled that up as well, concealing himself from view.  
  
"Just go away."  
  
"But, Hiei . . ."  
  
"I said go away!" he shouted, thoroughly annoyed.  
  
BD huffed, growing impatient. "You're acting like a child. The one thing that can show how strong a person is . . . is how much they admit they are wrong, and how much they need help," she said, after considerable thought to her answer.  
  
Hiei turned to look at her, his eyes cold. "You're saying that not talking about this makes me weak? Feh, you really are a fool."  
  
She only scoffed. "It's true, and you know it," BD was enjoying this mind game.  
  
"Would you just-" Hiei stopped. Thinking about his situation for several minutes, he wondered what was compelling him to do this. Perhaps he realized that he WAS acting like a child.  
  
BD waited patiently for his response, not making a sound as he thought. Her only real reason for wanting to know was her own curiosity. The spiky- haired fellow had her intrigued.  
  
Hiei sighed deeply. "I told you once that Yukina was my sister," he began.  
  
"Yes," she said softly. "Is that the problem?"  
  
"I think you know, that she doesn't know. And I don't want to tell her," he added firmly.  
  
"Yes," she repeated.  
  
"The thing was, I didn't want her to be in love with Kuwabara. She deserves better than that," he said, a hint of sorrow in his voice.  
  
"Yes," she said again. "But now she's not."  
  
"Right, but she's upset," he said.  
  
"I see what you mean," she said. "You want her to be happy, but you don't want her with him. And at the same time it seems like the only way she can be happy is with him."  
  
Hiei looked down at her, his eyes wide. "That is exactly what I meant."  
  
She grinned. "Living as somebody else's subconscious does have it's benefits."  
  
He sighed. "Are you happy now?"  
  
She nodded, and began to climb up into the tree. Sitting beside him, she grinned.  
  
"What are you doing?" he demanded.  
  
"Sitting," she replied calmly. "Duh."  
  
He narrowed his eyes. "I told you what you wanted to know, so just leave," he turned away.  
  
Her lip quivered. "But it's such a sad story, I just thought you needed a hug." With that, she flung her arms around his waist in a tight hug. He yelped in surprise and pushed her off, nearly knocking her out of the tree.  
  
"What the hell was that for?!" he spat angrily.  
  
BD shrugged. "You looked like you needed a hug. Feel better?"  
  
"No."  
  
She sighed. "It was worth a try," she mumbled.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.  
  
"I wanted to make you feel better."  
  
This took him aback. Why would anyone care what he thought or felt? "Why . . .?" he asked warily, unsure of what she was thinking now.  
  
BD blinked at him. "Um, because you were upset?"  
  
"I understand that, but why would you care-"  
  
"I care what you think, Hiei. You're just as important as the rest of them," she informed him. "Duh."  
  
He sat in silence, pondering what she'd just said.  
  
"You okay now?" she asked.  
  
He ignored her question, and thought about why he'd just opened up to her like that. Her, a demon he barely knew . . . of all people. BD before Kurama, even. Maybe it was because she'd seen him cry. He thought about this for a few minutes.  
  
"You okay, Hiei?" she asked again, quieter this time.  
  
"Yes," he mumbled.  
  
"Good," she smiled. "I'm glad. Amori and Kuwabara are joining Yukina, Genkai and I for dinner tonight. I'd be glad if you came."  
  
Again he was stumped. All this hospitality coming out of one person, directed solely at him. He didn't like it.  
  
"I don't think-" he started.  
  
"Onegai?" she asked, quivering her lip and widening her eyes like a sad child. This only confused Hiei more.  
  
"What the hell are you doing now?"  
  
"Begging," she answered. "Duh."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Ningens," he muttered.  
  
"Hey!" she snapped. "I'm not human. Feh!" she held up her right arm as proof.  
  
Hiei cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I remember. Where did you get that, exactly?"  
  
BD grinned broadly. "When I was still inside Amori, I forced her to learn. She needed self-defense, she was horrible."  
  
"And she mastered it?" he wanted to know.  
  
"No, duh. I said she was awful. We summoned it once, though. I thought it would kill us both. In addition to making one huge mess of Makai, we passed out for four days straight, both of us."  
  
Hiei laughed. "That's what you get for attempting things you can't achieve," he said.  
  
"Hey, shut up. We tried, okay?"  
  
"Hn," he replied.  
  
Sliding down from the tree, she looked back up at him. "Coming?"  
  
"No," he said.  
  
BD facefaulted. "What do you mean 'no'?"  
  
"What part don't you understand?" he taunted.  
  
Sighing heavily, she muttered, "Yukina will be upset to know that you refused."  
  
"Damn you!" he shouted. "You're as bad as that fox!"  
  
Smiling, BD replied, "That mean you're going?"  
  
He slid out of the tree, grumbling, and they walked back to Genkai's temple in tandem. BD chatting nonsense all the way, as Hiei half listened to her random babbles.  
  
As they neared the temple, Hiei stopped short.  
  
"Shut up," he said. BD stopped talking and listened.  
  
"Kurama?" Hiei asked. The redhead walked out from behind a bush, waving lightly in greeting.  
  
"Hiei, BD," he said politely.  
  
"What are you doing here?" BD asked cheerily.  
  
"I felt the-" he started.  
  
"You too?" Hiei asked. "I don't recognize it."  
  
"Neither do I," Kurama said grimly.  
  
BD turned around, suddenly sensing a large amount of power behind her. Releasing a shriek of horror just before a large, black-cloaked figure swung a scythe at her. With a blur, Hiei was fending off the blade with his own, while Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair.  
  
"Run!" they both shouted at the same time.  
  
BD only stood there, staring. "He's from my dream . . ." she mumbled.  
  
"Run, damnit!" Hiei shouted, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike by the huge demon.  
  
"Get Yusuke!" Kurama ordered, slashing at the demon with his whip.  
  
"Uhh, right!!" she turned and ran for Genkai's.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~* (Reikai)  
  
"Botan! BOTAN!" Koenma shouted, hopping up and down on his desk in a wild excitement.  
  
"Yes, sir?" she asked, just floating in from her ferry girl duties.  
  
"GO GET YUSUKE!" Koenma shouted, pointing to the TV with both hands.  
  
She looked to the screen and gasped, as Kurama and Hiei were viciously attacking a large, cloaked demon with a scythe.  
  
"We'll find out who, or what, he is, you go find Yusuke!" he ordered.  
  
"Yusuke's with Keiko!" Botan protested, whining in distress. She had no clue what to do.  
  
"That'll just have to wait! That thing's loose in Ningenkai, Botan. Need I remind you of what could happen!?"  
  
She sighed. "No, sir. I'm on it!" Leaping onto her oar, she flew off at top speed.  
  
"Ogre, get me a book!" Koenma shouted.  
  
"I'm on it, sir!" George called obediently from the library.  
  
Koenma sucked on his pacifier noisily. "Hurry, Botan," he mumbled to himself, watching the fight on the TV.  
  
~*~*~*~*~* (Park)  
  
Yusuke and Keiko had sat down on a park bench, and were busily planning their wedding date. Botan flew in on her oar, feeling sorry for Keiko.  
  
"Yusuke! Hurry, there's a problem. We need you, NOW!" she snatched Yusuke by the arm and flew off with him.  
  
"BOTAN! Let me go! Can't you see I was busy?!" he shouted, annoyed, as Botan helped him onto the back of her oar.  
  
"I'm sorry Yusuke, I really am, but this is slightly more important than your love live," the look in her eyes showed that she really was sorry, and Yusuke turned to Keiko as they flew off.  
  
"I'll be back! Meet you at the ramen shop as soon as I can! Love you!" he waved sadly as they flew towards Genkai's.  
  
"Awww," Botan commented.  
  
"Shut up. What's the problem?" he demanded, his voice stern.  
  
Botan looked grim. "I'm not sure, he's attacked Kurama and Hiei close to Genkai's. We can't see his face, he's covered up well. He's big, Yusuke. Be careful."  
  
"Gotcha," he said, giving Botan the thumbs up as she dropped him off at Genkai's, landing behind him. Running inside, they found no one to be there.  
  
"They're around back, come on, hurry!" Botan led the way out the back door, and flew through the forest on her oar. They could hear the sound of metal hitting metal, and followed it.  
  
"Hiei? That you?!" Yusuke shouted.  
  
"Yusuke!!" several voices shouted in relief at once.  
  
"Yeah, me. Make way," he said, running towards the scene. Kurama was still slashing at the demon, which was bigger than Yusuke had imagined, while Hiei fended off the scythe in close combat.  
  
BD stood off to the side, biting her lip nervously. Genkai stood beside her, edging back and forth nervously, unsure of how to help.  
  
"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke shouted.  
  
"Hiei, move!" Kurama urged.  
  
Hiei leapt out of the way of the bullet just before it struck the demon. It yelled out in pain, and hissed at Yusuke. Reaching one long, black hand into his clock, he revealed a shiny, golden book.  
  
"That's king Enma's book of the Dead!" Botan shouted.  
  
"Give me a break! You didn't know it was gone?" Yusuke yelled. "No, not that book of the dead!!" she said. "It's something else! It's got immense spirit energy, and it's inanimate! Yusuke, you have to get it back! In the wrong hands, it-"  
  
Yusuke spit. "I get it. The world blows up."  
  
Botan sweat dropped, "well, something like that . . ." she mumbled.  
  
Kurama slashed at the demon violently, as he was about to open the book.  
  
It hissed again, and flung the book open. "You will pay dearly for interrupting my plans," it hissed in a low, scratchy voice. Holding the book out in front of him, his body glowed red with energy. The book also began to glow, though it's aura was golden.  
  
The demon shrieked angrily, as his spirit energy mixed with that of the golden aura given off by the book. The red-gold aura stretched out several meters, blasting everyone in the area.  
  
"Aww, damn! Is everybody okay?!" Yusuke called, getting up and preparing to attack again.  
  
"I'm fine," Kurama assured.  
  
Botan helped Genkai onto her oar and moved her back, farther from the fight. "I can handle it," Genkai protested, but really it was Yusuke's job.  
  
With a sudden gasp of surprise, Botan called, "Where's BD?"  
  
"There's no time!' Yusuke shouted. "Spirit Gun!"  
  
The demon hissed in pain as one of his arms was sliced clear off, flying several meters behind him.  
  
"Ha! Take that!" Yusuke grinned cockily.  
  
"Yusuke, look out!" Hiei warned, as the golden book of the Dead narrowly missed impaling Yusuke in the head.  
  
Kurama caught it, but dropped it immediately, crying out in pain. His hands were burned and covered in blood.  
  
"Are you okay?" Botan asked, worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine, stay back!" he warned, pulling out his Rose Whip again.  
  
The fight went on for some minutes, while the demon tried to get his book back. Kurama stood over it, defending it with his life, while Hiei and Yusuke slashed and shot at their enemy.  
  
The demon cried out in pain as a fatal blow from Hiei's katana sliced through his middle. The top half of his body slowly slid and fell to the ground, oozing dark blue blood. Yusuke grinned. "Thanks, Hiei. Couldn't have done it without you."  
  
"Hn," was Hiei's only reply, as he sheathed his bloodstained blade.  
  
Kurama stared down at the golden book. "Botan," he said, "How do we get it back to Koenma? It'll burn us."  
  
"Don't worry about that. I can handle it!" Botan walked calmly to where the book lay, holding her hands a few inches above it.  
  
"It's still hot," she said.  
  
Kurama looked at his own burned hands. "Yes . . ."  
  
"Come inside, I'll help you," Genkai offered, and he followed her away.  
  
"Keiko . . ." Yusuke mumbled to himself.  
  
"Oh yes, Keiko. I'll drop you off at the ramen shop on my way back," Botan smiled.  
  
Hiei had meanwhile walked over to the golden book to inspect it. Carefully lifting it, he hefted it in his hands. "Heavy," he noted.  
  
Botan stared in disbelief. "How can you touch it?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "You forget what I am."  
  
Botan and Yusuke sweat dropped. "Right," Yusuke noted.  
  
Botan opened her communication mirror. "Koenma-sama? We've killed the demon."  
  
"Good!" Koenma's voice sounded from the little communicator.  
  
"It's too hot for me to touch," Botan said.  
  
"If you use oven mitts, it'll work." Koenma said.  
  
"Really? Wow," Botan grinned. "Who knew?"  
  
Genkai appeared beside them, holding a pair of oven mitts. They all stared at her.  
  
"What? You said it was hot," she protested.  
  
"Right," Botan smiled, taking the mitts and taking the book from Hiei.  
  
The doorbell sounded. "Ah, that'll be Amori and Kuwabara . . ." Genkai turned to answer it.  
  
Yusuke hopped onto the back of Botan's oar. "I'm off, ja!" he waved back to the group.  
  
As Botan flew off, Kurama walked out, his hands bandaged. "Well, Hiei, are you staying?"  
  
"Yes, BD practically forced-" his eyes widened.  
  
Kurama blinked. "What is it?"  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~* (Back Inside Genkai's)  
  
"So you just . . . lost her?" Yukina sounded worried.  
  
Hiei nodded.  
  
"I think she was lost when the demon sent out that energy blast," Kurama mused.  
  
Worriedly, Yukina bustled about the kitchen. "Well, I made food, but I don't know . . . we should find her."  
  
Amori shrugged. "She'll live."  
  
After a pause, Kuwabara agreed. "Yeah, she'll be okay."  
  
Hiei and Kurama still looked unconvinced. Kurama was thoughtful. "I wonder where she could have gotten?"  
  
As they pondered this, BD stumbled into the room, burned to a crisp. "I'm here . . ." she mumbled weakly.  
  
"BD!" Yukina smiled. "Oh dear, are you all right?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," BD lied. Yukina walked over and held out her hands, offering some healing power. "Thanks," BD smiled, "Much better."  
  
Yukina grinned and served them all dinner. The topic of discussion was the demon, and how he'd gotten hold of the powerful artifact.  
  
"He probably stole it from Reikai, somehow," BD offered.  
  
Kurama nodded. "Seems logical, that's happened before," he grinned.  
  
BD continually looked back and forth from Yukina to Hiei as they ate. For the first time, she saw their resemblance. Both of them were shorter than average, yes, but the main thing was the similarity of their eyes. Both of them had very pretty crimson eyes, almost exactly alike. Hiei caught her staring.  
  
"What?" he asked, snapping her out of her trance.  
  
She blinked. "Nothing," she said. "Just thinking."  
  
Hiei eyed her cautiously, giving her a warning look. As they finished, Kurama stood first to leave. "I should go and change the bandages on my hands," he said. "I'll see you again soon."  
  
"Ja!" Yukina called politely. Hiei smiled warmly, for the first time since who knows when. He could see now that Kurama was right, they were only friends. The clouded, troubled look then returned to his eyes. He wanted to make Yukina happy, but how?  
  
BD tapped Hiei on the shoulder. "Hello? Earth to Hiei!"  
  
"Hn," he retorted, standing. "I'm going."  
  
"Oh . . . where are you going?" BD asked. "Just curious," she added cautiously.  
  
He stared at her. "To the forest, or Makai," he answered truthfully. Even Yukina looked troubled at this.  
  
Genkai saw the two girls looking worried for him, and this amused her. "Hiei, feel free to use one of my extra rooms," she offered.  
  
Hiei blinked. So much hospitality was new to him, but he would be glad to stay closer to his sister for a change.  
  
"Hn," he nodded a 'thank you.'  
  
BD grinned, and looked to Amori. "Where are you going to stay?"  
  
"Here, duh." Amori answered. "Same place I was yesterday."  
  
Kuwabara sighed. "It's getting late, I should be going." He kissed Amori on the cheek gently. "See you tomorrow."  
  
As he turned to leave, Yukina looked away. Hiei stared at her, wanting to hug her, to make her feel better. He understood what BD had meant, when she wanted to hug him. Yukina wiped a tear away from one eye, and quickly returned to helping clean up.  
  
While Yukina and Genkai cleaned up the kitchen, Amori stood to help. BD was about to, when she noticed Hiei's melancholy expression.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" she wanted to know.  
  
He looked at her, his eyes returning to their usual cold state. "Yes."  
  
"All right," she nodded, and helped the rest of them with the dishes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Whew! LONG chapter! I'd like to thank Tan-chan for helping me with my writer's block (thanks a bunch!) and orangejujy for forcing me to continue under penalty of death.  
  
No more shoutouts, except I'd like to thank Philly Steak 'n Cheese as my 100th reviewer! GO YOU!  
  
Review me, I'll update faster. Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.  
  
Flames and Torches  
  
~BD-chan~ 


	13. Chapter 13: woo! what a creative title!

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho, would I be writing this right now? NO!

I have to continue, no matter how brain-dead and idea-less I am. I HAVE to. I started a new project, and then deleted it by accident, and it was REALLY good, too! Argh! But I shouldn't have. I MUST finish this first. So, I will.

~*~*~*~*

The Dragon

Chapter 13 Title chapter

~*~*~*~*

BD curled her knees up to her chest, her eyes wide and unblinking. Deep in thought, she slowly began to rock back and forth in the tree, just outside of Genkai's. It was sometime past two in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. Her head throbbed painfully, and she couldn't figure out why.

The figure cloaked in black . . . he'd stolen that golden book thingy. Yeah. Suddenly she was struck forcefully with a thought, so forcefully in fact that she managed to fall out of the tree.

"Oww . . . damnit!" she cursed, rubbing her back. Standing swiftly, she ran around Genkai's temple to the back, headed for the spot where they'd fought with the demon only hours ago.

"Aha!" she proclaimed excitedly. In the spot where a dead demon should lie, only a small puddle of sticky blue blood remained. Searching the spot for footprints, she found none. As she headed back, considering the possibility that a wild animal or two had eaten him, she stepped in a spot of sticky blood. 

"Oh, _gross!_" she backed up, only to step in the large puddle where he'd been slain.

"EWWW!" leaping several feet backwards, she sat down to rub her head a bit, which was still throbbing with a migraine. As she wiped the blood from her foot, she heard soft footsteps padding _around_ the blood, and directly towards her.

"Genkai?" she asked, seeing only a short figure in the dark.

"Yes, what are you doing out here in the dark? You woke us all up, and scared the hell out of Amori," Genkai informed her.

BD blinked. "Oh. Gomen nasai," she apologized. "But Genkai, look. The demon . . . he isn't dead!"

Genkai lifted her hands, illuminating the entire area with her reiki's blue light. Indeed, next to the large, sticky, _gross_ puddle of bluish blood, was another one. Smaller, but still there. Genkai walked over to it, and as her light followed her, they saw another spot of blood. And another, and another . . . 

"Footsteps!" BD shouted in triumph.

Genkai rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Another figure had walked up to them, staying in the shadows behind them, away from the bluish glow. As they turned back, he was uncovered by the glow emitting from Genkai's hands.

"Hiei?" BD asked dumbly.

"Duh," Genkai said again.

"Hn." Hiei stared at them both; his look was all that was required to demand an explanation.

"Footsteps!" BD shouted again, pointing. Hiei gave her a quizzical look, and Genkai sighed.

"The demon you guys supposedly killed is alive," Genkai said coolly. Hiei seemed unimpressed.

"I thought so," he said quietly.

BD plopped herself down on the ground again, rubbing her temples. The other two stared at her.

"My head," she explained, "it hurts."

Hiei shrugged, turning to Genkai.

"Advil?" she suggested.

The three of them made their way back into the temple, none tired. Now that they'd been awoken, none of them saw the need to go back to sleep.

"Tea?" Genkai offered, sipping her own. Hiei and BD sweat dropped, and accepted.

"What does he want?" BD asked.

"We aren't sure," Genkai answered. "If you want answers, you'll have to speak with Koenma."

"Ugh, that stupid toddler-baby? He _knows_ things?" BD seemed surprised, as Hiei just stared at her, wondering where all the stupidity was coming from.

"He _is_ head of Reikai," Hiei added as an afterthought.

"Oh, yeah," BD mumbled. "Forgot."

"BD no baka," Genkai piped, sipping her tea noisily.

Standing up from her spot on the floor around Genkai's table, BD promptly fell down again. Genkai showed a faint spark of concern, and Hiei 'hn-ed.'

"I'm okay," she said. "No need to help," she added sarcastically. Standing again, BD flicked on the light, to reveal Yukina.

Blinking, Yukina was just walking in from the hallway. Hiei looked up with interest, only to turn back to his tea quickly. Yukina smiled.

"Couldn't sleep?" Genkai asked.

"No," Yukina confessed. "Is she okay?" Yukina motioned to BD, who was sitting on the floor rubbing her temples again.

"Yes," Hiei and Genkai said at the same time.

BD glared at them. "Guys, we have to find out where that demon went."

"The demon . . .?" Yukina asked, shocked. "Another one?"

"No, the same one," Hiei said.

"How do we find him?" BD asked.

Genkai sighed. "I thought we've been over this. Koenma."

"Oh," Yukina seemed nervous now.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here." Hiei's voice startled them all, and Yukina smiled.

"Arigatou," she bowed politely. Hiei only 'hn-ed' and looked into his teacup, to occupy himself.

Filled with inspiration, BD leapt to her feet. "We should go get him!"

Genkai rolled her eyes. "Count me out."

"Uhh, I think I have to stay here . . . sorry . . ." Yukina mumbled.

BD sighed. "That's okay! Hiei and I'll go! Right Hiei?"

Hiei twitched in annoyance.

"Please?" she begged in response. Genkai smiled in amusement, and Yukina gave a slight giggle.

"Get the fox to do it," Hiei spat, turning away.

"Aww, but I want _you_ to go!" she protested.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!!"

"No."

"YES!"

"Hn."

"What does _that_ mean?!"

"Hn."

BD sighed. "You're so impossible! Ugh!"

Yukina laughed aloud, amused. Genkai smiled and sipped her tea again. And Hiei smirked, having won his argument as usual.

"You're still going," BD announced as she pranced out of the room, going to find her shoes. Which, she suddenly thought, would have been helpful for not stepping in the icky blue blood.

Yukina laughed harder, patting Hiei on the back. "It'll be fun, going to Reikai," she comforted him. 

"Hn," he mumbled in defeat, following BD out of the temple with his arms folded across his chest in defiance.

"You think they'll survive each other?" Genkai mused.

" . . . Well I _hope_ so, but . . ." Yukina said quietly, and then laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*(Reikai)

Sleepily stamping away at his papers, Koenma was just hoping for a trained circus monkey, minding his own business. Botan was asleep in her bedroom, duh, and George the faithful oni was elsewhere, probably slacking off as usual.

Koenma snorted and continued to stamp his papers with his little stamp thingy, pausing only to dip it in red ink.

Suddenly, the door to his office burst, and Hiei and BD barged in. BD was shouting.

"You just can't handle the fact that _I won,_ and _you lost,_ so just get over it!" she was saying.

"I didn't lose _anything,_ I only came because you can't handle it yourself," he said, louder than his usual tone of voice.

"Hn," he added for good measure.

"Well _hn_ back at you!" she yelled.

Koenma's jaw dropped, wondering just how badly he needed that circus monkey. _Note to self_, he thought, _get circus monkey to do job for me. Too much stress._

"Hello . . .?" Koenma offered casually.

"Hello!" BD answered with a rage. Koenma cocked a confused brow.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.

"The demon's alive," Hiei said quickly. "Tell us where it is so we can kill it."

"It's _what?!_" Koenma's eyes went swirly.

"Enough with the surprise! Just find it!" BD yelled, in a bad mood.

Koenma flipped through channels for what seemed like an eternity, before turning to his guests.

"I can't find it!" he announced.

BD rubbed her temples. "This isn't helping," she mumbled.

"Got a headache?" Koenma asked. BD nodded in response.

"Hn."

"You know, I had a this weird dream that the scary demon guy was trying to kill me. It was freaky, because then it _happened._" BD randomly brushed her fingers through her hair.

Koenma pondered this, thoughtful for a moment. "BD," he started. "Concentrate very, very hard . . . I think the demon, or at least his energy, is residing inside your . . . Uhh . . . head."

"NANI?!" BD's eyes went swirly, and Hiei looked mildly surprised.

"Yes," Koenma said. "Now, concentrate."

BD closed her eyes and thought, but couldn't make anything work.

"You'll have to get someone to go in through telepathy. Amori would work well, since you used to live in _her_ head, I think," Koenma had barely finished speaking when Hiei closed his eyes and telepathically contacted BD.

She twitched for a moment, flinching as though in pain. Hiei writhed a bit where he was standing, and all of this scared Koenma quite a bit.

"Or," he added, "We can all just not listen to me."

 Opening their eyes simultaneously and panting, Hiei and BD stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"And . . .?" Koenma asked.

"How the hell do you _live_ with that in your head?!" Hiei gasped.

BD blinked, resembling an imbecile. " . . . Huh?"

Hiei turned to Koenma and nodded. "He's in there."

Koenma stared. "Well . . ." he pondered.

"Well . . . _spit it out! _What do we do?!" BD snapped.

Koenma sweat dropped. "You aren't going to like it, but . . ."

~*~*~*~*(Koenma gives the plan, and . . .)

"NO." Hiei said.

"You have to!" Koenma argued. "She could _die._"

Hiei seemed unaffected by this.

"Hiei, I don't want to die, so get your sorry little ass inside my head _now!"_ she paused. "And I can't believe I just said that."

Hiei snorted. "Make somebody else go in there. I'm not."

"You didn't have a problem about going the first time!" BD argued.

"That was before I knew what was in there, baka."

BD's lip quivered. "Onegai?"

Hiei gave her a look of disgust. "You think that's going to win me over? Hn. Baka."

~*~*~*~*(Four and a half minutes later)

BD twitched in pain, as a battle ensued inside her head. Hiei's eyes were closed tight in concentration, as he reached her mind through telepathy. BD yelped in pain, as now there were _three_ subconscious in her head, instead of one. Hers, Hiei's, and the mystery demon guy's, and they were all causing her head to throb painfully.

"Why me . . .?" she managed to mumble, as Koenma watched from his comfortable position in his chair.

After several minutes of writhing, twitching, and a scary sort of battle inside BD's head, Hiei came back to reality.

BD blinked. "Did it work?"

He glared at her. "The damn thing . . . it gave me a headache . . ."

Koenma looked nervous. "So . . . you did kill it, right?"

Hiei scowled at the world. "That was only its subconscious, baka!"

"Ooh," BD and Koenma shared a moment of epiphany.

"So now . . . we have to find it!!" BD shouted in triumph, having understood.

Hiei nodded solemnly, pointing to the TV thingy. Koenma, right on cue, picked up his remote and flicked through the channels.

After nearly an hour of searching, Koenma shouted. "AHA!"

BD rubbed her eyes sleepily, waking from a dreamless sleep. Remembering where she was, she felt something leaning against her back . . . breathing . . .

"ACK! HIEI!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet. They'd fallen asleep, leaning back-to-back, sitting beside Koenma's desk. Hiei fell backwards when she stood, and glared angrily at her.

"What?!" he snapped. She blushed heavily, and he remembered where they were.

Koenma just rolled his eyes. "I found him," he announced weakly.

Indeed, there was the mystery demon, on the screen. He was in Makai, sitting in a tree, healing himself.

"Let's go kill him!" BD grinned an evil sort of grin. Koenma blinked.

"Well, he isn't doing anything wrong anymore."

"So you're saying we can't kill him?" Hiei looked annoyed. "All that for _nothing?"_

"Well, I didn't die," BD piped. "Does that count?"

The other two looked at her for a moment, and Koenma nodded, if only to shut her up.

Botan walked out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Ohiyo," she noticed BD and Hiei. "Eek! Hi guys!"

BD nodded a greeting, and Hiei, once again, 'hn-ed.'

Smiling giddily, Botan bounced over to her friends. "I have to work today," she said sadly.

"We were just leaving," Hiei said coldly, turning to leave without BD.

"Hiei!! Sorry, Botan. I think we should go, though. Thanks, Koenma. My head feels better," BD turned to Koenma, who, surprisingly enough, was a teenager now.

"Yo," he said.

"AAH!" BD stumbled backwards a little, and Koenma laughed.

Botan rolled her eyes. "Oh, Koenma, always joking."

Koenma shrugged. "I was bored, so sue me."

Hiei looked disgusted with all of them. "I'm leaving now," he announced, and continued to do just that: leave.

Botan waved and smiled, "Bye BD!" With that, she hopped onto her oar and flew out, straight past BD and Hiei as they left.

"Wait for me!" BD yelped, chasing Hiei down. He didn't stop, and neither did she . . . instead, she pounced onto his shoulders and tackled him to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?!" he snapped angrily, standing up, ready to kill. She sweat dropped and giggled, and stood to brush herself off.

"Sorry, Hiei. I forgot your . . . um . . . smallness."

Hiei's right eye twitched spasmodically.

Giggling, she pulled him into a hug, only infuriating him further. "C'mon, let's go!"

"STOP!" he screeched, louder than Hiei is supposed to. BD stared at him, blinking.

"Y-Yes . . .?"

"Why . . ." he said, twitching, "must you do that?"

A small grin graced her features. "Because, you're so cuddly and kawaii!"

Hiei twitched a bit more, and BD trotted off without him.

~*~*~*~*(Two and a half minutes later, Reikai hallway, where we left our good pal Hiei)

BD wandered back up, and there stood Hiei. Right where she'd left him. Twitching.

"You gonna be okay, buddy?" she asked, poking him.

He turned his eyes to face her, and she cringed. Hiei looked quite scary.

"Don't . . . touch me."

"Okay," she said, backing away. "I won't touch you, then. Just don't like . . . kill me . . . and everything will be okay."

"Thank you," he said, and walked calmly down the hallway. Shaking her head in confusion, she followed.

~*~*~*~*~*(Reikai, back in Koenma's office)

"Koenma, sir!" Botan called, racing through the hallway on her oar.

"Yes, Botan?" he asked, still teenage.

"I have to tell you—and why are you still teenage?" she asked, blinking.

He shrugged.

"Well anyway, that demon that Yusuke killed, he—"

"Yes, he's alive," Koenma said. "Why?"

"He's back in Ningenkai," she told him, "And he's just killed an innocent little girl."

"NANI?!" Koenma nearly had a heart attack.

~*~*~*~*~*(Yukimura Ramen Shop)

"Do we _have_ to?" Keiko whined.

"Hiei's my friend, too! Just like Kuwabara. We can't just _not_ invite him to the wedding!" Yusuke argued.

Ring Ring! Went Yusuke's communication mirror. Sliding it out of his pocket, he flicked it open to reveal a panicked and teenaged Koenma.

"Sir?" Yusuke asked, baffled.

"It's me, you dunce! Koenma!" he shouted, changing back.

"Ahh, _there's_ my favorite kindergartner. What's up?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma sighed. "Remember that demon you killed at Genkai's? You may want to go kill it again."

"DAMNIT!" Yusuke shouted. "All right, I'll save the world for you, but it'd better not take long!"

Hanging up with Koenma, he turned to Keiko.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, hugging her shoulders gently. "I'll be back soon, I swear."

Keiko nodded sadly, and watched from the window as he raced off down the street.

~*~*~*~*~*~*(Genkai's Temple, roughly an hour later)

Yusuke burst through the door, obviously pissed.

"Where is he?" he snapped.

Kurama stood up from where he'd been seated. "I know where he's gone. Botan already contacted me."

"Where are Hiei and Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked.

Genkai piped up. "Hiei and BD went to Reikai, I'm sure they know by now and are on their way back, and we couldn't get hold of Kuwabara."

"I tried," Yukina said sadly, looking at the floor. Kurama winced, as she was obviously still pining for the big orange-haired oaf.

Genkai nodded. "But you two will be fine, Hiei should be here any second, they left several hours ago."

"I'm here!" BD called out, entering through the back door. She walked into the room where everybody else was, and Hiei followed.

"Mission, Hiei. Let's go," Yusuke said impatiently. Hiei 'hn-ed' and followed, still a bit twitchy.

"Ja!" BD waved cheerily as they left. Turning to Yukina, she saw that Yukina was not quite as happy.

"What's wrong, Yukina?" BD asked, eyes full of concern.

Amori yawned, as she walked into the room. Sleepily she looked at everyone else.

"Ohiyo," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

BD shook her head. "And to think we were once attached. It's like . . . 3 in the afternoon."

"Oh," Amori smiled.

"Have a nice sleep?" Yukina said politely, masking her sadness.

Amori nodded, completely oblivious. "And yourself?"

Yukina nodded back, as Genkai and BD shook their heads in disgust.

"Enough of happy hour. What's the matter, Yukina? Tell me." BD looked Yukina in the eye, demanding that the sadness come back and explain itself.

"It's just . . ." she eyed Amori carefully. "Nothing."

BD rolled her eyes. "You hide your emotions, just like— never mind."

Genkai, Amori, and Yukina all gave BD looks of 'okaaaaaay . . .'

BD sweat dropped and turned to Amori. "Go make yourself breakfast, or lunch, or something."

"Okay . . ." Amori looked puzzled, but she was hungry anyway.

Genkai looked at Yukina as well, as if asking her the same question.

"Are you okay?" BD prodded again.

Yukina nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

Genkai gave up, and followed Amori into the kitchen. BD wasn't so quick to give it up.

"Yukina, you can tell me. It's Kuwabara, isn't it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Yukina looked down at the floor, and nodded.

BD shook her head. "Listen, you have to forget him. He's a loser. You know he is, when he goes out with Amori," BD explained. 

Yukina still looked upset, so BD continued.

"You'll find somebody better," she comforted.

"Arigatou," Yukina said politely. "I feel much better."

~*~*~*~*~*(Random area of Random Forest-y place)

"He's around here somewhere," Kurama announced.

"Right," Yusuke looked around, trying to sense the demon. Hiei followed silently.

"We've never had a mission with just the three of us," Yusuke mused. "I think I like it."

Hiei nodded silently in agreement.

"I admit, it is quieter," Kurama said, feeling guilty to admit that Kuwabara was a nuisance.

Yusuke pointed into the shadows, directly to the group's left. Kurama pulled out his rose and held it elegantly, and Hiei unsheathed his katana in a quick motion.

"There," Yusuke said, pointing.

The familiar, dark cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. It's clothing was torn and tattered, though it's face still invisible to the Tantei.

"Very good," it congratulated in a raspy voice. "I expected you to find me, though not so quickly."

"Who are—" Yusuke started.

"Spare us your heroism," Hiei snapped, slicing at the demon sharply. Kurama and Yusuke blinked a few times before helping. Hiei was attacking the demon with a vengeance, taking out his rage. Their opponent shrieked in rage as Hiei's sword penetrated its chest, spurting the familiar dark blue blood.

Yusuke was ready to say that Hiei had won, and allowed his hand to drop to his side. Kurama, however, continued to attack the demon. Slicing cleanly from one side, the Rose Whip cut through the demon's waistline in a diagonal line.

Shrieking in pain, the demon's top half separated from the bottom, and he was dead. For effect, and his own pleasure, Hiei twisted his sword back and forth a few times inside the demon's chest. Making an awful _crack_ sound, Yusuke winced.

"Okay, pal, that's enough," Yusuke coaxed. "Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast, Yusuke," Kurama argued. "First we should see who it really is."

Kurama walked up behind Hiei to unveil the corpse, as Hiei continued to mutilate it. Gently pushing him aside, Kurama unmasked the demon.

"As I suspected. A low-class thief that stole some power," Kurama pointed to the demon's chest, which was now split wide open, and a red energy was slowly dying.

"I see," Yusuke mumbled. "_Now_ can we go? I have a wedding to plan."

"Hn," Hiei shook his head in disgust, his mind elsewhere.

As they walked back, Yusuke began to babble about his wedding. Though he usually kept up his badass front, this event was exciting him.

Nearing the portal to Ningenkai, Hiei surprised them all, "Kurama, I have a question."

Kurama blinked. "Um, sure Hiei. Shoot."

Yusuke stopped walking and turned around, so that the three of them formed a triangle where they were standing. Hiei looked up and them, sighing.

After a pause, Yusuke piped, "And? Your question, while we're still young?"

Kurama 'ahem-ed,' "Well I _am_ over four hundred . . ."

"Not the point, fox boy."

Hiei felt incredibly violated now, and felt the need to do something about it. Ignoring Yusuke, he turned to Kurama instead.

"Kurama, you've had obsessive girls after you, what do you do?" his serious voice didn't stop Yusuke from laughing.

Kurama had to put a hand over his mouth to hide a smirk. "Y-Yes Hiei, I have . . ." he managed, choking back hysterics.

Hiei looked quite displeased, and a bit distressed. "And?"

"Just don't kill them," Kurama snorted and suddenly began to walk again. "Come on, let's go." He jogged a few strides ahead, with Yusuke alongside. They laughed together.

"That's what she said," Hiei twitched, and followed. That was more than he'd planned on enduring today.

~*~*~*~*~*~*(Genkai's Temple, Hiei's bedroom, 3 AM)

Sighing contentedly, Hiei wondered why he'd never agreed to stay here before. This was way, _way_ nicer than any tree he'd ever slept in. Turning over to stare at the wall, he thought about Yukina. After a few minutes, he slid off his bandana to watch her. Of course, he could have just walked to her room, but this bed was so much more comfortable.

As he watched Yukina sleep, he heard his bedroom door slide open, then closed. Sitting up quickly, he saw the one and only. His stalker.

With a twitch, he demanded, "What do you _want?_"

"To see you," she grinned truthfully.

He muttered profanities under his breath, wishing she'd leave him alone. "Don't you sleep?" he grumbled irritably.

She shook her head.

"Damn."

"Piss off," she retorted.

"Kiss my ass." Hiei was quick witted, good for an insult fight.

"Gladly," she said simply.

BD blinked, thinking. Hiei stared at her, wondering if she was thinking . . . _no!_

He scowled, "Why . . . just go. Leave."

BD smiled through her blush. "Nah, I think I like your room better."

He looked at her, his face puzzled. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because, _you're_ in it."

Hiei looked petrified for a moment, before glaring at her. "Leave, before I set you on fire," he threatened.

"Try me," she stuck her tongue out defiantly.

He clenched his fist, resisting all temptation to cause her spontaneous combustion. Of course, he would, if it weren't for Yukina. The house could catch fire, and he didn't want that.

Turning away, he thought about his sister a bit more. BD watched him from behind, as he stared at the wall.

"Is the wall _really_ that interesting?" she asked.

Hiei practically exploded. "Baka!! I'm thinking!"

BD cringed, feigning a hurt expression. Hiei, being Hiei, didn't care in the least. He just thought. Contemplating 'tell her, or not?' as he did often, more often than anyone knew.

Suddenly he gasped, as a gentle hand touched his shoulder. Turning to face her, instead of anger, she saw a shocked look.

"What?!" he demanded again. "I just want to be left alone."

"But that's not good for you. Let it out," BD advised.

"Let _what_ out?" An honest question on Hiei's part.

"Um, your feelings? I don't know, I'm new to the emotion crap," she confessed. "I'm only trying to help, work with me here."

Hiei shook his head in silence. "Fool."

"I'll take that as a compliment, if only to piss you off," she said.

And it worked pretty damn well, too.

"Would you just . . ." he started.

She finished for him. "Go away? Leave you alone?"

"Yes," he said matter-of-factly.

BD shook her head. "Nope. Not until you open up and tell me what's the matter."

"I told you already," he answered truthfully after a moment.

"Yukina, you mean?" 

Hiei nodded, and glared. "So _go._"

BD smiled. "You're in luck! I have a suggestion!"

He rolled his eyes. "You and the rest of the worlds."

"Tell her."

"I knew you were going to say that. No."

"Why not?" she demanded. "Yukina deserves to know!"

"That's what Kurama says. She doesn't want a convict for a brother," Hiei told her. "I know."

"If I had a brother, I'd want him to be _just like you._" Emphasizing on the last three words, she gave him a light hug. He pushed her away, and in a blur he was out of the room.

Demons, he could handle. Nagging friends, he could tolerate. But this, this was too much.

~*~*~*~*~*

End Chapter.

WOO! Long chapter! So review me, NOW!

Flames and Torches,

~BD-chan~


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